Rising of The Spare Hero
by Sobe James
Summary: Richard Williamson never suspected that a simple outing to a Japanese bookstore would turn out they way it did, but now he has been transported to another world with a young man he just met. And why on earth are these strange men in cloaks talking about Cardinal Hero's? More importantly where is the coffee?
1. Chapter 1: Blank Pages

I do not own or maintain any rights to _Rising of The Shield Hero_ they belong to _One Piece Books _and _Aneko Yusagi. _I am just playing in their sandbox for a minute.

Chapter 1: Blank Pages

Being transported to another world is really not a good way to start your morning in fact the only way it could be worse is to find out the world you were transported to does not have coffee. My name is Richard James Williamson, I was on vacation in Japan and thought my day was going to be like the rest of the days that I had spent here you know? I was only planning on looking for some interesting novels to bring back home with me to show my friends, but I guess fate had other plans.

I had been looking around the used bookstore for a little while when I realized just how out of my element I was. We have bookstores back home in America but not anything quite like this, the shelves were filled to the bring with thousands of light novels ranging from looking like new to almost falling apart from their age. It just had a feeling to it that I couldn't quite capture. I was perusing one of the shelves holding the older looking books when I bumped into another person.

They impacted the ground with a soft "Oof". "Sorry," I said quickly while doing my best to look abashed. "I was not looking where I was going. I was captivated by all the books they sell here." I explained using my best Japanese while helping the young man I knocked over back to his feet.

"It's okay I can get lost while looking at books myself." He stated with his hand on the back of his head whilst having a gentle smile. "It is nice to run into another fan of books, my name Naofumi Iwatani Mr?" Naofumi chirped while giving a polite bow.

"Ah, my name is Richard Williamson, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Iwatani-san," I said bowing back to Naofumi.

"So, what brings you to Japan Williamson-sama?" Naofumi asked politely subtly referencing my age by using "sama".

"I am on vacation right now. I was hoping to bring back some light novels as souvenirs." I explained while gesturing to all the books around us. "There seems to be quite a large selection here and I got a little overwhelmed."

"It happened to me my first time here as well, but I enjoy that they have a large selection. I can always find something I like when I come. In fact, I just found one of the older Isekai novels but something strange about it. It looks like it was misprinted see." Naofumi explained while opening the book he was holding to a section near the middle and stepping beside me so we could look at it at the same time.

"Huh, isn't that something," I said while I supported the other side of the book with my right-hand rubbing elbows with Naofumi while we looked at the book together. He was right a section titled The Shield Hero appeared to be completely blank. 'That's very interesting misprints are extremely rare in books.' I was thinking while turning to look at Naofumi. Only to see him look wobbly on his feet. I dropped the book without thinking and shifted my arm around his back to support him. "You okay there….bud?" I asked as I realized that I was starting to pass out too.

'Could the book be tainted with some kind of fast-acting virus?' I thought to myself has I fully passed out and the world went black.

**Well, that is one chapter done! I know it is short, but I just wanted to get something done and posted up to get the ball rolling. I am going to try and update as often as my schedule lets me. I should have the second chapter up in a couple of days though. Thanks for the read! -Sobe Out.**

**Edited 23-12-19: Spelling and grammar**


	2. Chapter 2: The Spare

I do not own or maintain any rights to _Rising of The Shield Hero_ they belong to _One Piece Books _and _Aneko Yusagi. _I am just playing in their sandbox for a minute.

Chapter 2: The Spare

"Oh wow…"

I heard the sound of a group of people that were surprised at something as I came to. 'Okay so I am not dead' I thought to myself as I started to come around from being knocked out. 'What the hell happened to me? It wasn't chloroform no one pressed rag to my mouth, and where am I anyway I'm not in the bookstore anymore.' I continued trying to figure out where exactly I was. I noticed that I was laying with my back on the ground. I was sure that I wasn't in a hospital either. I took note of the fact that I was laying on a cold stone floor and that the air felt and tasted stale. 'I have to be somewhere underground. Was I attacked and kidnapped? Who moved me and where is Naofumi?' I worried has I became increasingly agitated.

I decided that it was best to end my ruse of remaining knocked-out on the floor of the chamber and got to my feet to look around. I spotted a gaggle of people wearing robe looking on in awe at a group that included myself, Naofumi, and three unknowns.

"What's all this?" One of the unknowns demanded.

I saw Naofumi look at the unknown that spoke up and quickly examine the rest of the chamber. He was right to do so, my hunch about being underground was right. The walls were a simple cut and mortared stone. I took stock that the floor was covered in a repeating pattern as well as the fact the room we were in also contained an altar. That we just so happened to be perched on. 'Well great we have been captured by a bunch of cultists, Just peachy now how am I going to get all five of us out of here?' I thought concernedly.

"Where are we?"

'Good question kid, but I doubt they will tell us.' I thought has one of the unknowns, who I just noticed was holding a sword asked while pointing it at the robed men. 'They are all armed, why would a cul…'

"Oh, heroes! Please save our world!"

"What?!" Naofumi and they unknowns shouted in unison.

"Excuse me but what do you mean by that?" I said slowly while stepping forward for the first time. The group of robed men stepped back in surprise as I came to stand next to Naofumi. He looked a little startled for a brief moment then leaned in to whisper to me.

"Williamson-sama what's going on?"

"I wish I knew kid, but I don't think that I am supposed to be here judging by their reaction," I responded quietly while just barley moving my hand to indicate the other group.

"Why are there five of them?"

"The legend…. four..."

"Cardinal Hero's…."

The robed men tried to whisper to each other, but their shock was making them talk loud enough I could hear some of what they wear saying to one another. After their brief and hushed whispering, one of the robed men stepped forward and spoke.

"There are many complications in this situation, but to offer a simple answer to your question, we have just completed an ancient ceremony and summoned you four… ahem… five heroes."

"Summoned?"

'Oh, so they are cultist, after all, they are just also on crack. Well isn't that nice of them' I thought sarcastically to myself. I leaned down slightly to whisper to Naofumi again.

"Naofumi I don't like the looks of this they seem harmless for now, regardless keep your head down but on a swivel," I instructed him softly. "It might be best to play along for now but think before you act."

"What makes you say that Williamson-sama?" He asked looking slightly concerned, but before I could reply the robed man moved to speak again.

"Our world teeters on the brink of destruction. Heroes, please lend us your strength," said the robed man, bowing very deeply to us.

"Look, I am more than willing to …." I began to say to the man has I was cut off by the three unknowns.

"I don't think so."  
"Yeah, me neither."

"We can go back to our world, right? We'll talk about your problems after that."

'What is wrong with these three? Do they think this is some kind of tv show?' I put on my best I am going to end you glare and looked at the others trying to get them to pipe down. They must think that this is not real, that we are on some kind of show, they don't know just how dangerous these cultists can be if we upset them, armed or not I don't think we would stand a chance against that large of a group. Just then sword boy leveled his blade at the group and nearly yelled, "Don't you feel guilty for calling people into your world without their permission?"

"Besides," Interjected another young man with a bow, "even if we save you and bring peace to your world, you'll just send us back home, right? That just sounds like a job to me." He said whilst glaring at the robed man.

"I wonder how much you've considered our opinion on this. I wonder how it could be worth our while. Depending on how the conversation goes, keep in mind that we might end up being enemies of your world." A man around Naofumi's age said cockily while pointing a spear at the cultist.

'Oh. My. God… These idiots are going to get us whacked by a group of crack-smoking cultists' I thought putting a hand over my mouth to keep from yelling at them while looking at Naofumi's face and seeing his mouth hanging open.

"Yes, well, we would very much like you to speak with the king. He will discuss future compensation with you in the throne room."

One of the robed men, apparently their leader, lean against a very heavy-looking door until it opened at which point he pointed in the direction we were to go.

"Whatever."

"Fine"

"I don't think it really matters who we talk to, but whatever."

The three stooges complained as they left the room in the direction indicated. I made sure Naofumi was on my six as I followed them out. I noticed that the air outside the room felt much fresher as we walked down a hallway made of stone. I saw that we were coming up on a window and made sure to get a good look outside. What I saw made me stop so fast Naofumi walked into my back. The world outside that window was clearly not earth.

"Oh…. They aren't cultist, they told the truth…" I thought aloud as I looked at the stunned face of Naofumi has he too looked out the window. The world outside was gorgeous, to say the least, it looked like a picturesque medieval village with a town and gently rolling hillside just beyond. We gazed on in stunned silence for a moment longer before jogging down the hall to catch up with the others as they entered the throne room.

"Huh, so these kids are the…four…. holy…heroes?" A man who must have been the king stated had he toke stock that there was, in fact, five of us. He has leaned forward as he spoke, and it allowed him to look us all over. He stopped on me for a moment considering that I had no weapon or shield like Naofumi. He coughed gently into his hand and looked sternly at a man to his left in the gallery before straightening up in his throne and speaking again.

"My name is Aultcry Melromarc XXXII, and I rule these lands, Heroes show me your faces!"

Hearing this I snapped to best at attention I have ever done, head straight and forward, chest out, shoulder back, and stomach in. My Drill Sargent would be proud at how fast I got into form, and positively kill me for all the others at least Naofumi tried to replicate my stance. 'Gold star for the attempt kid.' I thought as I waited for the king to address the group once again.

"Now then, I shall begin with an explanation. This country-no, this whole world- is on the brink of destruction."

Well, that's unnerving I thought has the king explained. One of the others decided to speak up. "Well, I guess that makes sense, considering you'd call us from another world."

"Yeah, figures."

The king explained to us why we had been summoned like so. There is a great doomsday prophecy about this world, events called waves of calamity would wash over the world again and again until nothing remained. Before now the citizens of the land thought it was just a metaphor or an old wives tale but a month ago the sands of a device called the dragons hourglass began to fall and a region of this country was almost wiped off the map due to being hit by a wave of calamity.

The lands knights were barely able to hold out against the wave has it was. Apparently, they spawn monsters and demons from the very depths of the void when they appear. The waves also appear to get stronger has time goes on, so they figure the knights won't last long without the heroes to aid them.

It also seemed that there were only supposed to be four heroes summoned and going by that fact I did not have a legendary weapon I was the obvious man out. The weapons are supposed to translate the local language and hold valuable information to aid the heroes so the fact I could speak to and understand them tossed the gallery for a bit of a loop.

"All right," said one of the others. "I think I understand where you're coming from. But does that mean you are basically commanding us to help you?"

"Seems all fine and good…for you."

"I agree. All this sounds pretty self-centered to me. If your world is on the road to destruction, just let it burn. I don't see what it has to do with us."

'Oh, do shut up.' I thought has the young man finished speaking, I could tell by him trying and failing to hold in a giggle he thought this was the coolest thing since sliced bread. Naofumi looked like he was thinking carefully before he spoke.

"As they have said, we don't have a responsibility to help you. If we dedicate our time to bringing peace to your kingdom, do we get anything besides a 'thanks and see you later'? I mean, I guess what I really want to know is if there is a way for us to get home. Could you tell me anything about that?"

"Hmmm…" The king shot a glance to a vassal next to him. "Of course we are planning on compensating you all for your efforts."

All the boy's fist pumped at the idea of great rewards, even Naofumi looked slightly pleased with the idea.

"Naturally," continued the king, "I've made arrangements to support you financially and also to provide you with whatever you may require in thank for your effort on our behalf."

"Oh yeah? Cool. Well, as long as you'll promise us that, I don't think we'll have a problem."

"Don't think you've bought us off. As long as we aren't enemies, I'll help you out, though."

"Agreed."

"Me too."

'That does it as soon as I have some time with just the others one of these boys is gonna get a slap. At least Naofumi took my earlier comment about thinking before you act to heart and is trying to control himself!' Did these prancing show ponies want to piss-off the most powerful man in the whole country by acting like entitled pricks, I mean seriously did they not go to history class? No one kills more people than a monarch of olde with power unchecked!

"Very well then, heroes. Tell us your names."

I looked out of the corner of my eye at the line of people to my left and saw that it would go Sword Boy, Spear Gremlin, Bow Imp, myself, and finally, Naofumi who seemed to have a shield of all things welded to his arm. Sword Boy stepped forward and started speaking.

"My name is Ren Amaki. I am 16 years old and a high school student."

'So, his name is Ren, He doesn't look like much. No scars and clean white skin. His hair is black and cut short plus he is a little on the short side at about 5'4" if I had to guess. Jesus if he cross-dressed, I would believe him to be a woman.' I thought while looking at Ren, this is bad he is too young to be tossed into what might as well be a war.

"All right, I'll go next. My name is Motoyasu Kitamura. I'm 21 and a college student."

'So, the gremlin is called Motoyasu, well at least he is a full adult. He is a bit taller than Ren with long blond hair pulled into a ponytail, He looks like a bit of a play-boy, but that ponytail is going to get him hurt in any combat vs. another person.' I was starting to become slightly anxious myself about this summoning thing, all the others might have well as been toddlers. I realized with a shock that they tried to summon warriors and the only qualified individual in the room was myself and I wasn't even supposed to be here.

"Okay, my turn. I'm Itsuki Kawasumi. I'm 17 and still in high school."

'Sonnofa, He is even shorter than Ren by an inch or two, At least he is almost 18. He too had longer than average blond hair but at least his was lose and not pulled into some kind of grip for the enemy. Overall, he looked too soft has an individual, like he had never done an honest day's work in his life.' I might as well give my introduction now I thought has I stepped forward to give my speech.

"My name is Sergeant First Class Richard James Williamson, I am 31 years old, a college graduate, and have served five combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. SIR!" I said giving a salute to the king and shifting into a parade rest while speaking loudly and clearly. I noticed that the first three jumped at the level of volume that I spoke at and seemed to see me for the first time, they looked minorly put out. Most likely it was because of the stark difference between me and them. Being that I stand at a tall 6'4" or 200cm with close-cut dirty blonde hair, a well-toned body and silver eyes so sharp they could pierce the side of an Abrams. It looked like the king was taken aback at my introduction compared to the rest of the boys and that he was going to speak before Naofumi started his intro.

"I guess I'm last. My name is Naofumi Iwatani. I'm 20 years old and a college student."

The king looked down at all of us slightly condescendingly.

"Now then. Ren, Motoyasu, Itsuki, And Williamson, correct?"

"Your Grace, you've forgotten me," Naofumi spoke up softly attempting to be polite.

"Ah yes, pardon me, Mr. Naofumi. Now then heroes, please confirm your status and give yourselves an objective evaluation."

"Huh?" Naofumi gasped.

"Excuse me, but how are we supposed to evaluate ourselves?" asked Itsuki

Ren sighed loudly and spoke condescendingly "You mean to say that you haven't figured it out yet? Didn't you realize it the moment you arrived here? I mean, haven't you noticed any weird icons hanging out in your peripheral vision?"

"Huh?" Naofumi squeaked.

"Just focus your you mind on that icon," Ren explained.

I did as Ren instructed and a screen hit my vision like a pop-up.

**SFC, Richard Williamson**

**Class: Unknown Hero LV. 21**

**Equipment: Boot Knife (Excellent)**

**Otherworld Clothes**

**Skills: Leadership (Passive), Perception (Passive), Military Training (Passive)**

**Magic: None**

'Well that's new, wait a minute I could learn magic? This is hurting my brain to think about it. I was dragged into some kind of parallel world with magic and dragons. Just what the hell is going on?' My mind was running a million miles an hour as I looked over my status screen. It would be so easy to believe that I was dragged into some kind of video game it wasn't even funny god knows what the others are thinking.

"Level 1 . . . That makes me nervous."

"Good point. At this rate who knows if we'll even be able to fight at all?"

"What is all this?"

"Do these things not exist in your world, heroes? You are experiencing status magic. Everyone in this world can use it."

"Really?"

"And what are we supposed to do? These numbers seem awfully low." Ren inquired of the king.

"Wait a minute what do you mean by low? I heard Naofumi say he was at level one, but surely you all can't be that low?" I asked Ren

"No, I am at level one as well."

"We are too." Itsuki and Motoyasu stated together.

"I don't understand how that is possible I am already level 21 with skills relevant to those that I learned in our world, like my military career."

"WHAT!" They all shouted at me, even the king seemed to become pensive at my proclamation.

"Mr. Williamson while I am unsure has to the reason why you are not at level one it confirms a suspicion of mine, that you are _not_ one of the cardinal heroes. I believe you were summoned with the heroes due to your mannerisms and clothing, but your case is completely unique as we have never had five be summoned before. In simpler words, I believe you to be an _extra_." The king announced sitting regally in his throne. "Has, for now, I would ask that you let me deliver some important information to the _four cardinal_ _heroes_. We will address this matter later on when we may talk privately about your unique circumstance." He continued, stirring even more hushed and fast whispers from the gallery.

The king then cleared his throat loudly to silence the gallery before addressing us once again. "Heroes your levels may be low, but that is why you will need to go on a journey to further polish your abilities and to strengthen the legendary weapons you possess."

"Strengthen them? You mean these things aren't strong right from the get-go?" Motoyasu whined.

"That is correct. The summoned heroes must raise their legendary weapons by themselves. That is how they will grow strong."

Motoyasu spun his spear like it wasn't a razor-sharp weapon and asked the king "Why don't we just use different weapons while these ones are bulking up? Seems smart to me."

Ren quickly jumped in to keep things moving "We can work all that out later on. Right now, we should focus on improving ourselves, just like the king has asked us to do."

'Well that was unexpected it seems at least Ren and Naofumi are trying to think of this place as something other than a game. This could be a good sign if Itsuki is also going to take this seriously they might have a chance, but Motoyasu might be a lost cause he is not practicing proper weapons control at all and keeps trying to discreetly ogle the ladies of the court. They still seem far to eager to jump into the fray they need a hard reality check.' I thought trying to consider the odds for all of the others.

"Are we going to form a party? The four of us?"

"Wait just a moment, heroes."

"Hm?"

'Why did the king stop them? They have much better odds if they stay together.'

"The four of you should set out separately to recruit your own companions."

"Why is that?"

"According to the legends," He started, "the legendary weapons you posses will interfere with one another should you form a party. Both your weapons and yourselves can only grow when you are apart from one another."

"I don't really understand all that, but if we stay together, we can't level up, right?" Itsuki chimed in after a moment of thought.

The four heroes seemed to reopen their status screen again and look at something I couldn't see on mine.

"I guess it's true then…." One of them confirmed under their breath.

'What is going on in this world? It is almost like the universe wants the heroes to think this is little more than a game. This is not going to help any of them they need proper training in how to weld their weapons and intense mental fortitude to take on this task without extreme risk to their mental health if they cannot come to terms with however much like a game this world seems that it is clearly not they are going to be injured or worse!'

"Do you think we should try to form our owns parties?" Ren asked the king.

"I will attempt to secure travel companions for you all. Regardless, the evening draws near. Heroes, you should rest for the night and prepare for departure on the morrow. In the meantime, I will find companions for you from the village below."

"Thank you very much."

"Thanks."

The five of us turned to leave when the king called out to me. "Mr. Williamson if you would stay behind for a moment."

Naofumi turned to look at me but I subtly gestured that he should follow the others before turning to walk infront of the king.

"This court is adjourned, vacate the throne room!" The king announced to the gallery after a moment. All the ladies and gentlemen in attendance quickly rose and exited the room chattering excitedly to one another. Once the room was cleared, he gestured to the guards to exit and guard the entrances to the room.

"We may speak freely now." The king said slightly slumping a little in his chair.

"My liege, I am at your service," I stated going to parade rest.

"Mr. Williamson this is an unexpected and surprising turn of events, there has never been a fifth hero before in history, but you are not a hero, are you? The heroes are all marked by one of four legendary weapons being the Sword, Spear, Bow, and _Shield._"

'Why did he put that kind of tone on shield, could he have a problem with the shield hero?' I thought without moving my face.

"To my knowledge sire, I am indeed _not_ one of the four heroes you attempted to summon. The only equipment that showed up on my status screen was my clothing and a concealed boot-knife I already possessed."

"This is troubling news." The king said stroking his beard and looking lost in thought. "What did the class section of your status screen state you are? It might provide some more information."

"It stated that I am an 'Unknown Hero'. The description was left blank, however, Sire." I explained to the king.

"It seems my earlier assumption was correct, that you are for all intents and purposes, a _spare_ _hero_," The king seemed to look me up and down for a moment before continuing "Mr. Williamson you may rejoin the others, the guard at the door will show you where to go."

"At once, your majesty," I said respectfully has I threw a salute and briskly left the throne room. 'Great so now I am _The Spare Hero_.' I thought with a snort as I went to find the others.

**Hey, hey look at that! That's two down and about a million to go! I am going to try and get to a point where I can have a chapter posted about once a week, but I don't know I my job will allow it yet. A special thanks to Dr. Gale and kristova03 for their reviews they are a great motivation to keep going! If you spot an error feel free to point it out or make a suggestion, I am doing this not only for fun but to improve my writing ability as well. -Sobe Out.**

**Edited on 23-12-19: Spelling and grammar**


	3. Chapter 3: The Good,The Bad,The Unlucky

I do not own or maintain any rights to _Rising of The Shield Hero_ they belong to _One Piece Books _and _Aneko Yusagi. _I am just playing in their sandbox for a minute.

Chapter 3: The Good, The Bad, And the Unlucky

The guard was kind enough to escort me down the halls in the direction that the others had gone, I noticed that one of the doors appeared to be larger than the others and standing open on the way to our destination. Being the inquisitive type that I am I decided to peak through the door as we walked past. 'It's the castle library!' I thought excitedly.

"Excuse me Sir Knight, but is the room we just past the library?"

The guard stopped his brisk walk and turned to me before speaking. "Yes, it is Sir Hero, is there something that you need?"

"I was hoping that you might be able to help me acquire some books on the history and culture of Melromarc."

The guard seemed to ponder my request for a moment before responding. "That should not be a problem, Sir Hero, so long as the books are returned before you set out on your journey. If you will allow me a moment sir." The guard replied before walking through the open door and into the room.

I could hear what sounded like the guard looking through the shelves for a minute before returning to the corridor.

"I have acquired two books for you, Sir Hero," He said handing them to me "They were written in your tongue using manuscripts from past heroes so you should be able to read them without issue."

'Interesting, so even though we can speak to the residents of this world via magic from being summoned we would not be able to normally read their language. That is good to know, if we can't read in this world, we would be wholly dependent on the people around us to learn about it.

"Sir, you said that the heroes of olde left manuscripts that were used to translate these books, do you know where I could acquire a copy of one?"

"I thought you might ask that, if you open the second book to the back one of the translation tables is there." He explained gesturing to the book in question.

I purposefully opened the book to examine the table he mentioned, he was right it was a good starting point. To begin translating books that were written in the language of this world, there was one catch however the tables were written in kanji.

"Hmm" I hummed looking over the table 'This is intriguing, the heroes of olde were Japanese . . . So are the current heroes!' I came to realize suddenly. 'I need to read through a book about the past heroes and gather more evidence but I'm sure that being Japanese has something to do with being a hero!'

I looked up from my musing to see the guard patiently waiting on me to continue walking.

"My apologies Sir Knight, I became a little enthralled at the books you have provided me, they are a great boon to me."

"It is my duty to serve Sir Hero, I am glad I can be of such service to you. Now shall we resume?"

"Yes. Please lead the way."

We walked on for a few more minutes before we arrived at a solidly built wooden door. I could hear the other chattering inside. I turned to thank the guard only to see him give a polite nod and start to walk away. I swiftly turned the handle and went inside.

"Huh?!" I heard Ren shout as they saw me walk in.

"Well hello to you all too," I said scratching at my ringing ear.

"Sorry, Williamson-san," Ren responded.

"So, what did the king want with you?" Motoyasu asked cheekily rising from the bed he was sprawled out on and putting an arm around my shoulders.

"He just wanted to know if I knew why I was summoned alongside you all, we didn't have much to talk about. This is a first in all of their history." I replied to the room giving Motoyasu my best side-eye. "What did I miss? It sounded like you had made a discovery." I inquired of the others has Motoyasu finally got the hint.

"We were talking about how much this seemed like a game Williamson-sama, Ren had just told us it felt like a VRMMO he had be playing." Naofumi offered.

I let out an audible huff at the idea of them thinking this is a game still. "Listen up, I know this place seems magical and fantastic right now, but I can assure you this is no game. Look around you this place is far too real to be fake," I paused a moment to take a deep breath before resuming "I can understand why you may want to believe that this is nothing more than a great game, but you have to understand no matter how fantastical it seems. For the time being _this _is our reality. Your actions are going to have _real _consequences."

"Hahaha, That's funny Williamson! This place is exactly like _Emerald Online_." Motoyasu laughed out. "And just like _Emerald Online,_ I'm going to be the best and get all the cuties!" He said continuing to chuckle and spinning around to be in front of me.

SLAP! The others quickly jumped back from their positions and winced as my hand connected Motoyasu's face.

"Ahhh! Ouch! What was that for!" Motoyasu yelled at me while holding his face and rolling around on the floor.

"That is what we in the military refer to has a wake-up call! Jesus Motoyasu are you that stupid?! Tell me all of you, did any of the videogames you play ever hurt you like that?" I said pointing down at Motoyasu who was now sitting upright holding his reddening cheek.

"No, but wasn't that a little uncalled for?" Itsuki said nervously fiddling with his bowstring.

"I don't believe _Dimension Wave _ever caused real pain," Ren said with his hand on the pommel of his sword.

"If you think getting slapped in the face is painful just wait until you slip up and get stabbed. That is what I want you to understand," I said while helping Motoyasu to his feet again, "If you don't treat the threats in this world has one-hundred percent genuine you will get hurt or worse." I finished looking at each of the others, in turn, to make sure they got the message.

"Williamson-sama is right," Naofumi said to the group "We _need _to be careful here, the people out there are counting on us to save them."

I saw the others nod in agreement with Naofumi.

"Okay then the first thing of importance is information, do any of you feel like sharing?" I asked the group taking a seat at the table in the room.

Ren raised his hand. I nodded at him to go ahead "I don't think we all come from the same Japan."

"What makes you think this?" I asked him.

"Well each of us sans Naofumi has played a game that shares a close resemblance to this world, however, none of us have heard of the other's games." He said.

"Okay then let's test that theory. Call out your prime ministers on one. Three, Two, One!" I said counting down.

"Masato Yuda."

"Gotaro Yawahara."

"Enichi Kodaka."

"Shigeno Ichifuji."

The whole room fell silent.

"It does seem that you all came from different Japans," I said after letting it sink in.

"I guess that means that there is a Japan in all our parallel worlds?" Naofumi asked.

"I thought at first that we could just be from different time periods. But none of our experiences match up, so that can't be it." Ren added.

'Still four different otakus for parallel Japans? That has to be important somehow.'

"If that's the case, it seems like we were brought here for different reasons and in different ways."

"I'm not really into having useless conversations. Do we really need to have these things in common anyway?" Ren said trying to act like the coolest person in the room.

"Absolutely, good teamwork has kept more of my comrades alive than our armor. So why don't you start us off on how we all got here." I said involuntelling Ren.

Ren looked nervous for a moment before he quietly began speaking.

"I was on my way home from school when I hit a spot of bad luck and got caught up in a murder case. It was the talk of the town at the time."

"Uh-huh."

"I was with a good friend. I remember saving him, and I remember the criminal getting arrested . . ." Ren was rubbing his side softly as he spoke. "Anyway, so then, before I knew it, I woke up here."

'So, Ren was murdered trying to save a friend. That's so sad but it does happen.'

"Makes sense. Pretty cool of you, though, isn't it? Saving your best friend and all?" Naofumi said praising Ren.

"Indeed, it shows true compassion and loyalty to die for a friend, I'm sure your friend will remember you for the rest of their life. You have my respect Ren" I said standing up and saluting Ren before sitting back down.

"Okay, I guess I'm next," said Motoyasu pointing at himself "I have . . . Well, to put it simply . . . I have quite a few girlfriends."

"I'm sure you do."

'Ah, so he was a horndog.'

"And well . . ."

"You had too many at once, and they stabbed you or something?" Ren said, laughing to himself.

Motoyasu snapped his eyes open in surprise, then nodded. "Yeah, well . . . Women are terrifying."

"Goddammit!" Naofumi shouted at Motoyasu while flipping him the one-finger salute.

"So you were a playboy who broke the wrong heart?" I said judgmentally.

"Well, what can I say!" Motoyasu said smiling "I'm a fan of the horizontal tango." He added wiggling his eyebrows.

"Fucking degenerate," I muttered under my breath. While Itsuki and Ren shared a disgusted look with one another.

Itsuki stepped forward and placed a hand over his heart and began to speak. "Now it's my turn. I was on my home from perp school. I went to cross the road, but a dump truck came screaming around the corner at full speed. And then . . ."

The room fell silent once more.

'Ouch, that had to have hurt.'

"Uh . . . do we really all _have _to talk about how we got here?" Naofumi asked looking nervous.

"Yes," I said.

"Well. We already have."

"I guess. Well . . . Sorry, everyone. I was at the bookstore, flipping through a book I'd never seen before when, well…" He gestured at me to step in.

"When I bumped into Naofumi and caused him to fall over. I helped him up and he wanted to show me something about the book he had picked up. Next thing you know I was waking up in the ritual room with the rest of you." I finished for Naofumi.

Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu all huddled into a group and started whispering. "Yeah . . . but he . . . he has a shield . . . and Williamson . . . not even a hero."

"I knew it . . . Motoyasu, you too?

"Yeah . . ."

'What are they up to?'

"All right, so is it fair to assume that we all have a pretty good idea about how the system in this world works?" Motoyasu said.

"Sure." Rem said.

"Done it a thousand times," Itsuki confirmed.

"I think I get it well enough," I said having gathered more information on the way here. I noticed that Naofumi seemed unsure about himself.

"W . . . Well . . . Maybe you guys could teach me what I need to know to fight in this world? There were no games like this where I'm from."

Ren seemed to slightly narrow his eyes at Naofumi, whilst Motoyasu and Ren looked at him with a small amount of kindness.

"All right then, your big brother Motoyasu will, as best he can teach you the basics." Said with a smile so fake it would make the Cheshire cat frown. He proceeded to put his hand on Naofumi's shoulder and started talking away. "First of all, and I'm only talking about the game I know, _Emerald Online_ . . . but you're a 'shielder'. Basically, your job is to use the shield and protect people."

"Uh-huh . . ."

"There are no high-level shielders. At higher levels, it's a useless class."

"Nooooooooooooooo! What about updates? Were there no updates?"

"Nope. Because of the game's system and because of the game's population, the class was abandoned pretty early on. It's really not good for much. I think they had even planned to delete the class altogether . . ."

"And I guess I can't change jobs?!"

"Well, the associated jobs are all . . . How do I put it? Dead."

"And I can't change?"

"Nah, the game never let you switch to another job tree."

At that last remark, Naofumi seemed to cave in onto himself.

"What do you guys think?" He asked turning to both Ren and Itsuki only for them both to look away from him.

"Sorry . . ."

"I feel the same . . ."

"What about the geography?" Naofumi asked looking for hope.

"The names are different, but the map seems to be the same. If the map is the same, there's a high probability that the division of efficient monster is the same also."

"The best hunting grounds will be different for each weapon. Probably best to make sure we go to different places."

"True. We need to focus on efficiency."

"Hmm . . . Well, it will be fine. I mean, we are in a whole new world! Even if I'm not the strongest character, I'm sure something will work out."

All of the others turned to look at Naofumi as if he were some pitiful animal on the side of the road.

"All right, let's do this!" Naofumi said pumping himself up.

"Atta boy Naofumi," I said trying to be supportive of him "I never once wasn't grateful when the heavy armor showed up." I continued, patting him on the shoulder causing him to smile meekly up at me.

"Heroes, we have prepared a meal for you.

'Oh yeah, I forgot I haven't eaten today. I wonder if they have coffee.'

"Nice."

We all made a beeline for the door at the mention of food. I opened it and allowed the other to go through first before bringing up the rear. The dining room looked very elegant and like it came straight out of the _Harry Potter_ castle. The was a large buffet-style table set up in the center of the open room cover in a vast variety of foodstuffs.

"Everyone, please eat whatever you like."

"What? I guess we are eating with the castle knights?" Ren muttered to himself.

I lightly slapped the back of Ren's head with my right hand.

"Ouch!"

"Be nice Ren, we are guests in their home. They didn't have to feed us at all." I scolded him for being rude to the attendant.

"You misunderstand. This food has been prepared for you. The knights will not be permitted to eat until you have had your fill," said the attendant.

He was right, looking around the room I found it to be full of cooks and chefs ready to answer to our every beck and call. I guess that the king wanted to be a little flashy for his newly arrived heroes and their unexpected tag along.

"Thank you. Let's eat then."

"Yeah."

"Right on."

And so, we began to feast with the hunger that only those pulled from another dimension could eat with. I dined on some of the finest roast meats I have ever had in my life, but it just seemed like there was one thing missing.

"Excuse me," I said as I walked up to one of the cooks "Do you happen to have any coffee?" I asked him politely.

"I sorry Sir Hero but I have never heard of this . . . Kooffee." He said trying out the word on his tongue.

"Oh . . . Well then. . . I'm doomed."

**Ha! Another chapter is done! I got quite a bit of time after I finished working today so I decided to knock out this one. I know that the story is having a slow start right now, but it will be picking up here soon. I should have the next chapter ready on Saturday if I don't catch another break like I did today. Thank you for your continued support. -Sobe Out**

**Edited 23-12-19: Spelling and grammar**


	4. Chapter 4: The Best Laid Plans

I do not own or maintain any rights to _Rising of The Shield Hero_ they belong to _One Piece Books _and _Aneko Yusagi. _I am just playing in their sandbox for a minute.

Chapter 4: The Best Laid Plans

The dawn came quickly the next day, well at least for most of us. Naofumi, Itsuki, Ren, and I had all been awake doing our respective morning rituals. Naofumi had stumbled off to find a restroom, Ren was looking over his weapon and its menus, Itsuki had decided to do a morning workout, whilst I was reading over the book on the history of Melromarc. I had just read about how one of the previous shield hero's had founded the country of Siltvelt, and the two countries long history of wars between them. I was about to reach for the other book I had to cross-reference the impact this had on Melromarc culture when a loud knocking occurred at the door.

"Sir Heroes! Your morning meal is ready in the dining room!" The messenger stated before we could hear them walking away.

"Well, I guess that wraps up our morning free-time," I said bookmarking my page and standing up to stretch. "Y'all ready to go get some chow before our meeting with the king?" I continued looking to Ren and Itsuki.

"Yes, I think a nice breakfast would do us some good today," Itsuki responded to my question with his usual pretty-boy smile as he got to his feet.

"What are we going to do about the lump and Naofumi?" Ren asked us has he sheathed his sword and double-checked his belt.

"Naofumi should be back in a moment, has for Motoyasu we use his weakness," I said with a smirk. "Hey! Motoyasu look out she has a knife!" I hollered at him.

Motoyasu jumped bolt upright in his bed and looked around the room startled for a moment before turning to me. "You are a cruel, cruel man Williamson!" He yelled at me with his face in his pillow.

"Yeah, I know. But they have breakfast ready for us in the dining room, and besides, I thought that you would want to meet your squadmates today. I mean, who even knows? You might even be able to pair up with a cute girl." I said giving Motoyasu a wolfish grin.

"Well, why didn't you just say so!" He said quickly getting out of his bed and rushing out the door looking like a love-struck baboon.

Just then Naofumi stepped through the door that Motoyasu had slammed open on his way out.

"Why is Motoyasu running down the hall in his boxers?" He asked the room looking confused.

All the rest of us could do was cut a sly grin at Naofumi.

"You had to have been there," I told them as we went to get breakfast with the pants-less wonder.

After a quiet breakfast, we were summoned by the king to join him in the throne room at 10:00.

"The heroes enter." Loudly spoke the attended has he swung the massive doors open. There looked to be about a dozen strangers standing before the throne.

'These must be the people the king said he would recruit for us. It looks like the others should get three squad-mates each; it even looks like the king is willing to part with a handful of his royal knights. This is good with this much support the others might just be able to do this.' I thought hopefully while we walked to stand before the king.

"Has we discussed yesterday; I have called for others to assist you in your journey. Apparently, my call did not go unheeded." The king looked pleased with himself before continuing. "Now then, gathered adventurers, please choose the legendary hero with whom you will travel."

'Well how about that for a wrench in the cogs! Knowing what I do now about the wars with the nation of the shield hero; I don't know if anybody will partner with Naofumi.' I was worried about the kid; I knew that the king wasn't a fan of his. I moved to stan off to the side of the room while the others lined up in front of the throne.

I was as I had feared, the gathered adventurers broke into groups to support Ren the most with five, followed by Motoyasu with four, and then Isuki with a team of three. Naofumi was left with no one.

"Excuse me your majesty, but I seem to not have any companions," Naofumi stated looking flustered.

"I did not anticipate anything like this." The king said with a slight glint in his eyes as he turned to his minister.

"He's not very popular, is he?" The minister replied leaning towards the king trying to cover his mouth from view, but from my vantage point, I could see that he had a slight upturn to his lips when he spoke. A half-dozen men in robes approached the king and minister and started to whisper and laugh quietly amongst themselves `.

I could not make out much from what was said but I overheard one of the robed men say, "It seems to be going even better than we could have hoped."

'Big mistake pal' I thought angrily as I stepped from the sidelines and stood in front of the throne. "Excuse me, your highness! Seeing that Naofumi has no companions, I would like to volunteer to fight with him!" I said loudly so that the entire room could hear over there little side conversations.

The room exploded into a cacophony of noise at my proclamation. I saw Naofumi take his head out of his hands and look up at me hopefully, I tossed him a coy grin before I turned to look at the throne again.

"How?"

"Isn't he one of the heroes?"

"This is an outrage!"

"SILENCE!" Roared the king losing his composure for just a moment.

Just as quickly as it began the room went so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

"Has I was going to say before Mr. Williamson offered his service to Mr. Naofumi. It seems that people are whispering around the castle. They are saying that among the four heroes, the Shield Hero does not know very much about our world."

"What?!" I heard Naofumi gasp.

"The legends say that the four summoned heroes will have an understanding of our land. People are wondering if you will truly be able to fulfill the conditions set out in the legends." The king said stroking his long white beard.

"Your legends are wrong!" I addressed the room again. I heard many shocked gasps and people choking on their drinks.

"BLASPHEMY!" Cried out one of the robed men while pointing angerly at me. I saw many others in the crowd clutch a rosary and shake their fist angerly at me.

"Legend says that _four_ heroes will be summoned, yet you get _five. _Legend says the heroes will know and understand your world, but this is untrue as well!" I say to the crowd with a gesture of my right hand. "None of the heroes have the whole picture when they get here. Ren, Motoyasu, and Isuki all believed that they had been summoned into a video game after their deaths in their original worlds. Naofumi and I, however, got summoned after reading a book together in a bookstore. In short, your highness," I pause for effect, "none of us know what to expect from this world in whole." I proclaim gesturing to the others I had moved to stand beside.

"What he says is true," Isuki adds.

"We have a general idea, but not much more." Ren chimes in after considering the facts.

Motoyasu on the other hand just muttered something dumb about _Emerald Online_ to his party.

"So, what do you say Naofumi? Will you allow me to travel with you?" I say to him extending my hand.

"Yes! Of course! I am glad to have your help Williamson-sama!" He said with a huge smile while he shook my hand excitedly.

I suddenly saw another pop-up hit my HUD saying, **Alert! New Squad-mate added! **I could suddenly see so of Naofumi's stats show up in the top-right corner of my vision indicating that we were now a two-man squad. I could see from his eyes that something similar had happened on his HUD as well.

I saw one of the girls in Motoyasu's party step out of his line and say, "Sir's, if it pleases you, May I serve with the Shield Hero as well? She seemed to be quite rushed as she spoke.

I saw Naofumi look up at me as if to ask permission. I leaned down to him to whisper quietly, "I don't believe she is being sincere with her offer. Also, the king knew no one was going to partner up with you before he even called us into the room. I will leave the final call up to you, but I smell a rat." I whispered as quietly as I could into his ear.

"Are you absolutely sure." He asked me looking distressed. I could only nod sadly at him in response. "Well then, I guess that answers that." He finished looking like some of the hope had left his eyes.

"Miss your offer is very generous, but I have to decline." He said bowing politely to the cute redhead.

She looked like someone had roughly slapped her across the face for a brief moment when Naofumi turned her down.

"Oh, no, sir Shield Hero. Please don't worry about it." She tried to say confidently while waving her hand nervously in front of her face before she stepped back behind Motoyasu. I could hear the king tighten his grip on his throne's armrest at how the exchange panned out.

"Are there any others among you that would like to throw your lot in with _Mr. Naofumi _and_ Mr. Williamson_? The king said putting a heavy tone on our names.

No one moved a muscle.

"Now then, heroes I have set aside these funds for you. Please accept them." The king said sweeping his left hand at a group of four attendants.

They each brought a bag of money to the four groups. I could hear heavy and metallic rattling inside each of the bags. It seemed that the bag handed to Naofumi and I was slightly larger than the others.

"I have set aside six-hundred pieces of silver for each of you. Please take these funds and begin your journey!"

"Yes, Sir!" We all shouted in unison with only myself tossing the king a loose salute.

Naofumi and I smiled at each other as we made our way to exit the castle.

"Ah, it feels good to be outside again," I said as I stretched out my arm and back while looking at Naofumi. "Anyway, it is probably a good idea to find a blacksmith and get you outfitted for combat," I told him once I finished stretching.

"Hmm… That does seem to be the first thing we should do." He said after a moment of consideration. "But I don't know where or how to find a blacksmith." He added after looking around for a second.

"That should be pretty straight forward," I said looking at my partner, "See that open-air market over there; I bet you if we start walking down it, we will hear the tell-tale banging of a smithy." I finished pointing at a street filled with little stalls with brightly colored awnings.

As we made our way down the street I took a look at our surroundings. The street was made from finely interlocked cobblestone with a small trench in the middle of it to direct water and waste into the sewers. The stalls were all made of rough-looking wood with an awning to provide shade for the customers and hawkers; they were selling every kind of good I could think of I saw, gems, food, clothing, and just about a thousand other goods. Altogether it was a beautiful medieval bazaar.

It wasn't long before I heard the sound of metal hitting metal coming from a little way ahead.

"Hear that Naofumi, Just up there in that shop with the sword and anvil on the sign," I said as I pointed at the shop in question.

"You must have very good hearing Williamson-sama because I don't hear anything yet. Naofumi said with a gentle smile as he saw the shop I was talking about.

I smiled back at him as we arrived at the smithy, I opened the door for him to enter and he gave a polite nod as he did so. The inside of the shop was an epic experience for us, all of the weapons on display were gleaming metal and had whole sections of the shop dedicated to the type and function of each one. I saw Naofumi wide-eyed and slack-jawed at the size and scope of the shop. We poked around for a minute before we heard a man come out of the back carrying a box of armor.

"Welcome to my shop!" The large man said as he set the box down and leaned on the counter. He looked like the type of guy you would expect to own a weapons store; tall, well-toned skin and muscles, wearing a thick leather apron. "Let me know if you need help finding anything." The man offered has he continued to lean on his counter.

"Actually, we would like your help finding us some new gear," I said to the man after looking over the walls of weapons for another moment.

"Very well, what are you looking to pick up today?" He said kindly whilst stepping out from behind the counter and walking over to us.

"I would like to find some good lightweight armor and a weapon with a little more reach to it than my knife, additionally I would like to make some modifications to my knife," I said while pulling out my trust boot-knife and showing it to the large man.

"I am not as sure what I would like yet, but I think some armor and a sword would be a good start," Naofumi added in after thinking it over for a second.

"I have some leather chest pieces over there but has for leggings I will need to take your measurements and cut them for you." The man said pointing to a wall with the chest armor hanging on hooks while he looked over my knife. "Say, this is a really nice blade where did you get it from?" He said after looking the knife over with a magnifying glass.

"It is a K_-Bar Doghead, Big Brother _model. It came with me from our homeworld. I would like to get both sides of the blade sharpened to the hilt." I told him while I looked at the leather armor.

"Homeworld?" He said sounding confused before he had a realization, "You two are some of the legendary heroes!" He said looking happy. "Well, you have come to the best smithy in town." He announced while putting his hands on his hips. "Anyway, theatrics aside your knife should take me less then half an hour to sharpen up for you; do you have a sheath for it?" He asked examining the blade again.

"No, I only have the built-in holster in my boot," I tell him finally picking out a well-fitting piece of chest armor. I held the armor I had picked out up to him, "What's the price on this one?" I asked him politely.

"Hmm…it is normally 55 silver; but depending on what else you two decide to buy I will do a discount, so you can just set it up on the counter for now." The smith said with a friendly smile. "Anyhow, if you are ready to get the leggings, I can take your measurements now and cut them for you while I sharpen your knife." He continued.

"That sounds fine, I think my compatriot might need some guidance for his armor and weapon selection though," I respond to him while I gesture over to Naofumi who is still looking at a wide selection of armor looking completely lost.

"Sorry, I just haven't ever been inside a weapons shop before. I guess you could say that I am out of my element." Naofumi said sheepishly with his had on the back of his head. "Has for the armor I know I would like to maintain my mobility, but I think I would like something a little sturdier than leather." He stated to the smith looking for some guidance.

"You will most likely want some chainmail then. I just finished some right before you walked in; go ahead and take a look in that box and see if you like anything, if the fits not quite right I can make adjustments to it in the back." The smith told Naofumi whilst pointing to the box he had brought in. "Has for your leggings let me grab my tape." He told me while he reached over his counter to grab it.

He took the measurements for the armor I would like and then asked me about the cut I would like to get. "I think a pair of chaps would work best for me, I would like to maintain as much movement as I can, and they are easy to get on or off," I explained watching has he sketched out the pattern for them.

"Would you like any decoration to them?"

"No, I don't think anything overly extravagant is necessary."

"Excuse me, but I think I have picked out my armor." Naofumi chimed in politely. When I turned to look at him, I could see he was holding up a reasonable piece of chainmail that would cover his body down to mid-thigh. "I would also like to get this pair of boots." He added.

"Good choice kid, the armor you picked out will do great as a starter set for a novice adventurer." The smith said reassuringly. "Now that we have your protection squared away let's take a look at some offensive power." The smith said has he picked three swords off the wall and gathered some long weapons. Once he had them gathered up, he laid them out on the counter. "The swords are in order, iron, magic iron, and magic steel. They get more expensive as they go but the increase in quality is tremendous." He said as he pointed at each sword. "As for the others, I have a poleaxe, trident, and a simple spear. In the hands of someone qualified they are all equally deadly; they get lighter as they go." He finished letting us look at the weapons.

"Why don't you go first Williamson-sama," Naofumi said gesturing to me.

I stepped up to the counter and picked up the poleaxe, I gave it a few thrust and swings and found while it was expertly balanced the heft of the weapon was not to my liking. Next, I decided to test out the spear, I was much fonder of this; it had a good weight and was perfectly counterweighted by a fist-sized ball of iron on the end opposite the head. The head of the weapon itself was made of fine smelted steel and shaped like a traditional spearhead.

"I have my choice," I said placing the spear back on the counter. I saw the smith nodding his approval at me picking the spear.

"Now as for you young man what strikes your fancy?" He asked Naofumi.

"I think I will start with the most affordable," Naofumi said as he moved to pick up the iron sword. He lifted it from the counter to feel its weight and then turned to give it a practice swing. However, once he moved to bring the sword down, he let out a loud yelp and jumped backwards into counter has the sword jumped out of his hand.

"Are you alright kid?" The shop owner asked him has he moved to pick up the sword Naofumi had dropped.

"It looked like the sword just tazed you!" I said has I stepped over to Naofumi. I could see that he had gotten a pop-up in his HUD.

"It says that I can't use any weapons other than my shield," Naofumi explained at my inquisitive look. "It specified that I can't fight with any other weapon but that I can still use them as tools." He clarified for us.

"That is going to be tough to overcome. "The smith added pensively.

"Don't worry I'm sure you can acquire some way to fight. You can still use your fist, right?" I asked him.

"I don't know. I haven't tried it." He said looking at me.

"Well then, take a swing," I said as I stepped in front of him and held my arms out to the side.

Naofumi reared back a little looking unsure. I simply slapped my chest with my right hand to tell him it was okay. He pulled back and punched me as hard as he could in the chest. He made decent contact with me only for a loud "Clang" the be heard in the room.

"Well… out of all the things I expected to happen that wasn't it." I said to no one in particular.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Naofumi said putting his hands on his head looking like he was starting to freak out.

"Hey, look at me, calm down it is going to be okay." I said reassuringly, "We learned just now that you can go hand to hand. All you need is some training; beside that I am level 21, you might not be able to hurt me because of the level difference." I added grabbing him by the shoulders, forcing him to look at my face. "If the army got my ass past basic, you can win with just your shield and your wits. I have faith in you. Okay?" I said softly to him as he finally calmed down.

"Ah, thank you Williamson-sama. I just got really scared for a second. I'm sorry." He said looking down at his feet.

"Fear is natural Naofumi, we would not be human without it. What matters is having the courage to face it." I said with a smile. I heard a slow clapping coming from the smith has I turned to look at him.

"Very nice speech, that was really motivational." He said with a grin. We all shared a look and then busted out laughing.

"Well, I think we have everything we need then," I said to the smith. "What's our total?"

"Hmm… with the leather for you, chainmail for him, and your spear it comes out to be… 305 silver or three gold and five silver with a discount, I will even toss in a set of underclothes for the both of you. Consider it a perk of being heroes." The large man said with a smile.

"Seems fair," I said not to surprised.

"Well we did get quite a bit, I suppose." Naofumi shrugged as he pulled out the coin purse to pay the man. I took a minute for Naofumi to count out the coin to pay the man.

"So how long before we can pick up the armor and my knife?" I asked the smith while we leaned on opposite sides of the counter.

"About three-quarters of an hour for the lot; if you want you can head over to the inn for some lunch, I should have everything done when you get back." He said after a moment of thought.

"That sounds like a great idea, can we bring you back anything Mr?" I said realizing that we had never gotten his name.

He gave a hearty chuckle and said, "My name is Erhard, and thank you but I have lunch here." He said shaking my hand and gesturing at the upstairs apartment.

"All right I have your payment right here," Naofumi said holding out a stack of coins for Erhard.

"Thank you and have a nice lunch," Erhard said taking the money and looking happy.

Has Naofumi took back his hand he knocked over the pouch of our remaining money. He let out an "oops" has he moved to catch it, but he overshot, and the bag hit his shield instead. Suddenly there was a bright flash and the bag disappeared from sight.

"What was that?" I asked.

"It looks like my shield has an internal inventory." He explained while looking through his menus. "All but one of the coins is in it. "It also says that I unlocked the merchant's shield? It adds a defense bonus of five and apparently lets me barter better?" He continued looking bewildered.

"That is probably for the best. If we can keep the amount of money we carry openly low, we won't lose much if we get robbed or attacked." I said thoughtfully. "Anyway, let's get to lunch," I said as I headed for the door.

It didn't take us long to reach the inn Erhard had mentioned. It looked like a nice place with a handful of tables along one wall and a bar top on the other. I motioned for us to sit in an isolated corner so we could talk privately.

"So how much money do we have?" I asked Naofumi.

"494 silver." He responded. He looked puzzled for a moment and then said, "I thought the king was only going to give us 500 each?

"Yep, that's what he said but I don't think that is what he planned for." I said leaning forward to whisper to him, "I think the king planned for you to end up either alone, or with that redhead."

"Wh! Hrffig" He started to protest loudly in shock before I covered his mouth with my hand silencing him. I motioned for him to speak quietly before I let go of his face. "Why would he do that?" He whispered to me.

I saw the waitress coming out of the corner of my eye and sat upright before she reached the table.

"Hi, welcome to the Silver Stone inn! What can I get for you today?" She said cutely.

"I would like a simple meat and cheese sandwich please and a glass of weak ale," I said to her politely.

"I will have the same but with water instead of ale," Naofumi added.

"No problem. I should have that out in a few minutes sirs!" The waitress responded cheerily as she walked away.

"Why?" He asked again.

"I read in a book that a previous Shield Hero founded a country called Siltvelt and that Melromarc has been at war with them many times over the years. I also happened to notice a pattern of behavior whenever the king had to speak to or about you. He almost always said your name with an undertone of disgust. Not only that but when we broke into groups the men that were talking to the king were happy and one even said, "It seems to be going even better than we could have hoped." When it turned out you were alone. So, in short revenge."

"That seems crazy though! Why summon me here just to set me up like that?!" He whispered looking flustered.

"I don't think it is you personally. I think he would have tried this on whoever was the Shield Hero. Or best plan of action is to get our gear from Erhard and skip town for the time being. I don't think we have seen the end of this plot." I said trying not to sound insane to Naofumi.

"I don't know what if there are monsters we can't handle out there?" He said looking concerned.

"It should be safe enough to make it to the next town over at least. I tell you what, we will ask Erhard about it when we pick up our gear. Well just tell him we don't think we will get any good experience this close to the capital with all the other heroes here." I said drawing out a plan.

"I'm still not convinced, but if it will put your mind at ease and Erhard says that it should be safe then we will do it." He said after carefully picking apart my plan in his mind.

"Good after all if I'm wrong the only thing that will happen is we traveled a little farther then we needed too for farming experience points," I said looking satisfied with myself. "Now then it looks like our foods here let's eat and get back to the shop," I said nodding at the approaching waitress.

We ate quickly after our chat and paid for our food.

We made it back to Erhard's shop after taking a little look around the bazaar. I once again opened the door for Naofumi and went inside.

"Ah, welcome back!" Erhard said enthusiastically. "I just finished up your orders. I have them right here." He said patting two piles of armor. "Will you be putting them on here?" He asked us.

"Yes, I would like to get some hunting in today," Naofumi said accepting his stack.

"Good, you can get changed right through there," Erhard said pointing at a curtained off area along one of the walls.

"Thank you," Naofumi said walking over to get changed.

"Say, Erhard, you wouldn't happen to know of any nearby villages we could make it to by nightfall, would you? I am worried that with all the heroes here we won't be able to farm any good monsters for experience." I explained to him.

"Actually, I do. There is a village called Lute about six hours walk from here. If you leave now, then you should easily make it before dark. Also, around here the toughest beast you will find are balloons, but you should run into better kills on the way there. Nothing you will struggle with of course." He said after thinking about my question.

"Do you know how to get there?" I asked him.

"Yep, see here," He begins has he pulled a map out from behind the counter, "Lute is right here, and this is the capital Castle-Town if you follow this road here it will take you straight there." He said tracing out our route has he explained the map to me.

"Thank you," I said.

"Don't worry about it." He said with a wave of his hand. "If you get a chance go to the mines there and bring me some light metal ore. The shipments have been sparse lately and the courier said that they were having a monster problem in some of the tunnels. I will pay you good money if you can bring some metal back for me." He said offering us a job.

Naofumi rejoined us at the counter. "What do you think?" He asked looking over his armor.

"You look like a real hero now kid," Erhard added while tossing him a thumbs up.

"You look good, anyway Erhard you want to tell Naofumi what you told me?" I asked while I gathered up my gear.

"Sure deal, So, what we talked about was…." Erhard began.

I had a chuckle at Naofumi's expense has I went to get changed.

It took me only a few minutes to get into my gear. I thought I looked rather good in it. My leather top looked like a good waist-length leather jacket. My chaps fit well and were made from plain brown leather like my top. I put the sheath at the small of my back horizontal to the ground so I could draw it from my right side. I had a holster for my spear across my back. Seeing as I was ready I stepped back outside of the curtain and walked up to the counter.

"Well, gentlemen how do I look?" I asked as I straightened up my belt.

"Whoa! You look epic!" Naofumi said looking me up and down.

"You look fast and dangerous; I wouldn't want to be on the side having to fight you," Erhard said with a hearty laugh.

"Alrighty, Naofumi are you ready to go? I asked him.

"Yeah, let's get to it!" He said with a fist pump.

**Here you go guys and gals! I know it took me longer than expected, but this chapter almost doubles the story length. Hopefully, the next chapter is finished quicker. Also, I am looking for a Beta Reader or two; my job keeps me extremely busy most days and I don't have the opportunity to do much editing. Big thanks to Zero, Dr. Gale, MaveriKat, chaqueta20, and fractalman your reviews mean a lot to me and I am glad so many people have taken an interest in this story.**

**-Sobe Out**

**Edited 23-12-19: Spelling and grammar**


	5. Chapter 5: The Long Road Ahead

I do not own or maintain any rights to Rising of The Shield Hero they belong to One Piece Books and Aneko Yusagi. I am just playing in their sandbox for a minute.

Chapter 5: The Long Road Ahead

We left Erhard's shop and started making our way towards the main entrance to Castle-Town; on the way to the main gates, we walked past many of the small market stalls and open-air shops. The scenery was still so surreal to me, I was enjoying seeing all the people making their way through the colorful and diverse shops.

"We should keep an eye out for anything else that might be of use for us," I said to Naofumi as we strolled along the path.

"What should we be looking for? I thought we had almost everything we needed." He responded, looking at me curiously.

"Keep an eye out for camping gear, we need a tent, sleeping bag, cookware, rucksacks, and a simple butchers kit," I said, counting off the items and my right hand.

"Right, so look out for some kind of adventurers shop," Naofumi said, nodding now that he understood what I was talking about. He looked pensive for a moment before he asked, "Do you think we will be outside of town that much? I mean, we have almost 500 silver, we could afford to spend our nights at inns."

"We should conserve our resources as much as possible. Additionally, roughing it will help you learn more survival skills and level up quicker," I explained to Naofumi. "The military taught me to keep out of population centers and to stick to the wilds when stranded behind enemy lines," I said, scanning around us as we walked.

"Do you really believe we are in that much danger?" Naofumi asked, looking around at the people like he expected one of them to leap out and attack.

"Honestly, no, I don't, but I have a practice of preparing for both the worst-case and best-case scenarios. If you are ready for these two extremes, you should be able to handle everything in between." I said, elaborating on my thoughts.

"That seems like a wise way of going about it. What do you think is the best-case scenario?" He said, thinking over what I said.

"That I am wrong, and the king just has a personal dislike of you. That he is going to let us operate as needed to level you up and not try to intervene." I said, explaining what I hoped would happen.

"And the worst-case?"

"That the king hates you and is going to try to kill us off. We are talking about a man how could turn a force of thousands out on us. I fear he might even try to turn the others against us." I said, explaining what I feared might happen.

"Well, that is a depressing thought. What do we do if the worst should come to pass?" He said, looking concerned about the future.

"We run for it if it even looks like we are going to be hunted down we make a dead sprint for another country." I thought about it for a moment before I suggested where to flee to, "If that happens, I think we should try to get to Siltvelt." I said with my right hand on my chin.

"Why there?" He said, coming to a stop.

"It was founded by your predecessor; if the king hates you because of the shield's past, they should love you, or at least be welcoming to you. As an added bonus, they hate Melromarc. Logic stands that if we can get word to their government, they might even provide aid to us."

"Do you always think about things in terms of warfare?" He asked, innocently.

"No… yes," I admitted begrudgingly after thinking about it for a minute. "Besides, you stopped at the right moment, the shop we need is right there," I said, gesturing over his shoulder to the shop behind him.

As we approached the shop, I was able to a large selection of camping equipment and tools. The man behind the counter looked relatively squat and rotund. "Hail, shopkeeper, my associate, and I need a full complement of camping and survival supplies. Can you help us out?" I said jovially as I approached the counter.

"If you need wilderness supplies, you have come to the right shop, my friends! I should have everything you need on the walls behind me. What is your budget, if you don't mind me asking?", the squat man responded in good humor.

I leaned towards Naofumi to whisper to him, "What do you think? Should we try to conserve our money, or should we get the best gear we can while still getting two full kits?"

Naofumi pondered my question for a moment before he gave his response, "I think that if we are going to be outside the walls that much we shout go all out. I mean, the better gear we have, the better our odds, right?"

I nodded to let him know that I had understood before responding to the shop keeper, "We would like to get two full kits of camping equipment and butchering gear. Also, I would like to get a set of cooking equipment if you have it. In total, we would like to spend a total of 225 silver." I said kindly to the orange-haired man as I explained what I wanted to him.

He responded by scratching his chin for a moment in contemplation. Then giving me a soft smile before he spoke, "That should be more than possible sirs, it will afford you almost the best equipment money can buy. However, the packs you have to carry are going to be considerably heavy for new adventurers." He explained to us kindly. "However, sirs, if you have a filolial in your service, I can load it into saddlebags for you." He explained cheerfully for us while picking up premade kits to demonstrate their weight.

"Pardon me sir, but we are new to the area, what is a filolial?", Naofumi asked the man.

The shopkeeper looked puzzled for a moment before responding," Why they are the large birds you see all over town pulling carriages or with people on their backs." He hesitated for a moment before he continued, "How could you have gotten into the very center of Melromarc without knowing what a filolial is? He asked us, looking skeptical with his head cocked to the side.

Naofumi and I shared a look before we gave each other a slight nod that it was okay to be truthful with the man. "I am the Sheild Hero, and my friend here is the Spare Hero," Naofumi hesitantly explained to him. "We are trying to get out of the city because we are worried the others may make it difficult for us to hunt monsters," He said, deceiving the shop keeper.

"Why two of the heroes in my shop! Who would have thought!" The shopkeep shouted in excitement. "Why sirs, it is my privilege to help you on your quest!"

"We are grateful for your help, but please, sir, we are trying to be discreet; we don't want the others to get suspicious of us," I said, gesturing to the man to speak softer.

"Why, of course, sir, pardon my outburst. It is not every day that the most important men in the kingdom come in my apologies." The keeper said, sincerely.

"It is okay. I don't believe that we were overheard," I said reassuringly to the man. "I don't believe that I ever got your name, sir,'. I paused before offering our names, "I am Richard Willamson, and my friend is Naofumi Iwatani." I said, gesturing first to myself and then to Naofumi.

"I am Eustace Claremont," He said, giving his round chest an enthusiastic thump. "But where are my manners? Let me get your equipment ready for you!" he whispers shouted, gathering up our supplies.

"If I might ask where you are going to travel, I might be able to provide I recommendation," Eustace said kindly to us.

"We are planning to go to loot today," I told him honestly.

"Right, well, you should not encounter any powerful monsters if you stay on the main road there. However, I would recommend that you do not travel beyond Loot until you are both at least level ten. If you get the opportunity, try and mine some ore in the village. I heard that some monsters from the last wave made the mines their home. Naturally, the ore has increased in value considerably," Eustace offered helpfully, setting two large packs on the counter.

"Thank you, sir,' Naofumi stated with a smile, "How much do we owe you?"

"For everything I have here, it will cost you 150 silver. I have everything you need. You can get better equipment, but I would not do so until you have a steed in your service." Eustace said, passing us the packs.

Naofumi pulled the requisite amount of coin from his shield and slung one of the packs over his shoulders. "Thank you, you have been quite accommodating. We will have to investigate the mines you mentioned," He said, handing the money over.

"The pleasure has been mine sirs, I hope this equipment helps you on your journey," He said, giving us a cheery wave as we walked away from his shop.

We made our way out of the gates with a polite nod towards the gate guards and began walking down the road from Castle Town to Loot Village. We walked in silence for a few hours, just soaking in the scenery and enjoying the gentle morning breeze that blew across the open plains and fields outside of the castle. I saw Motoyasu fighting some creatures that resembled orange balloons in the distance, trying to impress the girls that made up his party. We walked for an hour after that to make sure we were well away from the others before we stopped for a break.

Naofumi was looking worn as he let his pack fall from his shoulders onto the ground. He took a handful of deep breaths now that he was freed from the burden of his pack. "How long have we been walking?" He said, reaching up to rub his sore shoulders.

"About three and a half hours," I set, setting my pack on the ground and laying with my legs crossed in front of me as I reclined on my pack. I saw Naofumi look a little dejected at the time we walked. "Don't worry about it; we are actually making good time. we should be able to rest a little bit before we need to go."

"I guess," he said, putting his legs out in front of him and laying back on his pack. "What is your plan?" He asked, trying to get comfortable.

"I think we should rest for a moment, have a drink, and then look for some monsters before having lunch and finishing our walk," I said, tossing him one of the canteens and taking a few large swigs from my own. He looked grateful for the much-needed water. "You can take a short nap if you want, I will keep watch for any unwelcome visitors."

Naofumi was out in mere seconds after I had told him it was alright.

'For a civilian, he has actually got decent stamina,' i thought scanning the surrounding area. 'Just how am I going to get him battle-ready though? I don't want to scare him, fear is not going to really do us any good in this situation'. As I thought about training Naofumi, I got caught up in an old memory.

I looked around hesitantly as the gray bus pulled up to the gates of Fort Benning. 'Okay, keep calm, these guys can smell fear.' I scratched my head as the bus pulled through the entrance and started down the road inside the training post. 'Remeber what Johnathan said. The best way to survive basic is to get through without any of the Sargents knowing your name, just do exactly what they say, and you will be okay. And, most importantly, don't do anything to make yourself a squad leader'.

The bus came to a stop outside of a building that had recruit barracks written on the side and large white letters. A large man stepped onto the bus has the driver pulled the air-brakes, making a loud hiss. The Sargent took a moment to survey the recruits with a feral smile that showed off his canines before yelling, "WELCOME TO FORT BENNING! OR HAS YOU WILL COME TO CALL IT HELL!". He was so loud that he made all of us jump in our seats and look startled up at him.

"I am Drill Sargent McDouglas! But you will only ever call me Drill Sargent unless you want to die!" He continued his feral smile as he looked at us. In a second, his smile disappeared, and he resumed yelling, " Whenever a drill Sargent talks to you, you will respond with yes drill Sargent! Now let's try again! Get your bags and get toes to the yellow line on the pavement!"

"Yes, drill Sargent!" We coursed frantically, grabbing the meager belongings we were allowed to bring and trying to run each other over to get off the bus. McDouglas was laughing maniacally while he watched this happen. I took what seemed like only a moment for us to line up outside the bus. After we were in a line, the other drill sergeants descend upon us. They systematically moved through the line like a wildfire reducing a handful of the recruits to tears.

"You with the peach fuzz! State your name!" McDouglas yelled only inches from my face.

"I am Recruit Richard Williamson drill Sargent!", I responded loudly over the commotion of the others.

"Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle, a recruit with a spine! You must think yourself a big man Peach Fuzz! A strong man! A grown man! Well, I got news for you! You aren't worth shit!" McDouglas hollered at me.

"Yes, drill Sargent!" I shouted after his assault on me.

"Oh ho, so you do have a spine! Well recruit since your the only recruit I have seen with a spine today you are going to be a squad leader!", McDouglas yelled, stepping back from my face. "I want you to take the three idiots to your right and get inside!", He said, pointing at the three idiots to my right in turn.

"Yes, drill Sargent!" I shouted, running down the sidewalk and heading for the building.

"Close those ranks recruits! Nuts to butts! Make your buddies smile!" McDouglas yelled at us as we made it to the door.

I let out a laugh as the memory of arriving at basic training at Fort Benning. I could see Naofumi's eyes flutter open at my laugh as he sat upright and stretched. "I don't think I have ever heard you laugh before. Something funny?" he asked, taking a swig from his canteen.

"Yeah," I said. "I was thinking about my first day in basic training.", I explained, looking off down the road.

"Why is that funny?" He asked, looking puzzled. I took a moment to explain my memory to him. He let out a howling laugh as I finished explaining it to him. "Oh my god, that's hilarious! How did you survive?" He asked, still chuckling at my story.

"The same way we are going to survive this," I said, gesturing around us. "We are going to take it one day at a time," I said, getting fired up.

"It's going to be hard. I can't help you at all in a fight, I can only act as your shield and block attacks for you," Naofumi said, looking forlorn.

"You know I have been thinking about that," I said, stretching out and coming to my feet.

"Oh yeah, how so? Do you have any ideas?" Naofumi inquired, getting up as well.

"Yeah, I do; I am going to teach you how to fight using the environment around you," I elaborated, gesturing around us at the world. naofumi looked at me quizzically, pulling his pack on.

"Okay. . . If you say so," Naofumi said softly, attaching his canteen to his pack.

"I do. Now let's go kill some monsters," I said fist-pumping in the air.

It did not take long for us to come along some of the orange balloons I saw Motoyasu fighting earlier. I raised a closed fist above my shoulder, bringing us to a halt away from the balloons. "You see those over there," I said, pointing them out to Naofumi.

"Yeah, they are low leveled balloons. You want to fight them?" He asked, looking a little hesitant to go engage them.

"Yes, I do," I said, " But more importantly, you are going to fight them," I said, looking at Naofumi. He sputtered like a car that got a firm hit of water and looked at me like I had lost my mind.

"How!? My punch on you literally did nothing but make a silly sound effect!", He said, almost yelling in fright.

"Try stepping on them, pick one up and bash it on the ground, whip it at a tree, through rocks at it, try ripping it in half using its mouth try anything and everything until something works. I have faith in you, Naofumi," I said, holding his shoulders in my hands and giving him a slight shake.

He looked still slightly afraid, but his eyes started to get a little resolve in them. "Okay, I will try!" he said, putting up a small fist pump. I gave him a fist bump as he turned to face the balloons that were coming closer, having spotted us.

The closest one lunged at Naofumi, and he threw his arm up to block it. Sadly he tossed up the arm that did not have a shield on it. The balloon sunk its teeth into his arm viciously. He looked like he was in shock as I lunged forward with my knife and popped the balloon that bit him.

"You okay there, bud?" I asked, waving my knife at the balloons to keep them at bay.

"Yeah, It bit me, but I didn't feel anything but a squeeze on my arm." He said, coming around and actually smiling. "I think my attack is too low to hurt them, but I think the same applies in reverse too!", he said having thought about it for a moment. "Step back, I want to try taking them on my own.

I looked back at him to make sure I heard him correctly, and he gave a slight nod in my direction. "Okay, I will not engage them again unless they start to hurt you," I said, quickly stepping backward from the hoard. The moment I got behind Naofumi, they all lunged at him and clamped on.

He didn't even flinch as they sunk into him. He whipped his arm around and plucked one off of his leg before he tried to punch it to death. Unlike when he hit me, there was no clang noise, but it only scuffed the balloon. Seeing that this was going to be ineffective, he then tried bashing it on the ground, this worked much better. After the third got wack into the cobblestone road, the balloon burst.

Naofumi jumped bolt upright with a shout. "I did it! I killed one!" he yelled in joy, dancing around with the rest of the hoard hagging of him. I started clapping in earnest happy that he got one.

` "Good job, Naofumi!" I yelled from the sidelines, encouraging him. I saw that the ballon he popped had left some scraps on the ground. "Hey buddy, you even got some loot!", I said, pointing at the scrap of balloon. He bent down to pick it up and examine it between his fingers.

"Do you think it is worth anything?" He asked, holding it up.

"Probably, Lets put it one of the bags and take it with us," I said, pulling one of the smaller bags out of my pack and taking the scrap from him. "You kill em, and I will collect the loot. We should be able to do this while we walk to Loot Village." I said, collecting the scrap the had stuck on my knife earlier.

"Right!" He replied, grabbing another balloon and grabbing one jaw in each hand and ripping it in different directions with his arms. The balloon's jaws stretched apart but did not give.

"Pull with your arms and your back, not just your arms," I said, seeing his efforts.

Naofumi nodded his understanding and gave an almighty heave on the balloon trapped in his grasp. With a loud battle cry, Naofumi kept the power on. And slowly at first, the balloon started to tear and then exploded outwards. With two halves in each hand, Naofumi raised his arms above his head and shouted at the sky, "Take that Motoyasu! I Am Not Useless!."

"You show em Naofumi! You can do anything you set your mind to!" I shout with feeling excitement for him.

We continued on like this for the rest of the day, Naofumi would get excited as he was able to kill the balloon scourge faster and faster with every kill. I followed on behind him picking up the scraps from the ground as they fell. We switched out after a quick lunch and filling our canteens from a stream.

It was a good practice session for me to get better acquainted with my spear. I practiced basic slashes and lunges at first. Has my turn wore on, I started to incorporate some basic twirls and dodges into the mix. I tried to get the tip of my spear to stay in as a consistent motion as posable. Without having to forcibly stop its momentum and change direction, I was able to take out balloons almost as fast as they appeared. After about thirty minutes of this pace, I stopped to look around and saw that there were no more balloons nearby.

"I think we got em," I said, tossing a grin back at Naofumi as I sheathed my spear.

"Well, I'll say! You looked more like you were dancing at the end there. I don't think you stopped killing them one after another for the last five minutes! How did you do that?!" Naofumi said with his jaw hanging open. Holding up the small bag we were using for loot to show that it was almost at capacity.

"Don't forget I am a trained soldier Naofumi," I said, taking a long drink from my canteen and stretching out for a moment. "We may not use a spear in everyday warfare anymore, but conserving energy and momentum is still taught. You want to try to fight as fluidly as possible.

"I will try to do so going forward," Naofumi said, taking my words to heart. "How much farther do you think Loot is?"

I pulled out my map and looked at it and the sounding area for a moment, "We should be there shortly, do you want to take point again?"

"Sure, I will take point," Naofumi said, passing of the loot bag to me. "Should I be worried about running into anything meaner than a balloon?" he asked, taking a drink and moving forward.

"The only other thing we should see out here is what Ernhart called a 'Pill Rabbit.' I think they are pretty much a more aggressive rabbit. If we come upon one try to break its neck," I stated while miming the correct motion for him a couple of times.

"Right, seems like the nicest way to do it," Naofumi said, sinking in on himself a little. "I just realized that not everything we fight is going to be a basic monster," he said glumly.

"Yeah, I don't think we are going to be that lucky," I said remorsefully. "Naofumi," I said, getting him to look at me, "If it should come to it and you have to fight or even kill another person to survive, you do it without a second thought." I could see him look a little put out by the idea. "Having to kill someone who threatens your ability to live or kill and animal to eat doesn't make you any less of a man. Believe me, it is not something you should want to take pleasure in, but if you have to do it, you do," I finished looking him in the eyes and eliciting a slight nod.

"Yeah. . . I can see what you mean. So to break a rabbits neck, you have to hold its body and head firmly and . . ." He gave a sharp twist with his hands.

"Yes, that pretty much it. Make sure you twist firmly and quickly. I figured you would rather do it more humanly then beating it bloody on the ground," I explained.

"Okay, will do," He said, resuming to walk forward.

We walked in silence for about ten minutes when it turned around to scan behind us, trying to make sure that no one was following us from the capital. I was just about to turn back around when I heard a soft squeak follow by a quick snap. I whirled around like a tornado with a hand on my knife, ready to pull it. When I saw Naofumi holding onto the body of a dead pill rabbit in his hands. I could see him look a little shaken for a moment.

He turned to look at me and said, "I guess we are going to be having rabbit tonight."

"Yep, I don't want it to go to waste," I said, quickly taking it and placing it in the bag of loot. "Don't worry, I am not going to make you clean it tonight, I will save that for when you are more comfortable with the idea. After all, I am a merciful God," I finished try to look as goofy as posable. I heard Naofumi gave a soft chuckle.

"You surely are Mr. I am going to make you carry a heavy pack all day and fight monsters," Naofumi said with a little color coming back to his face. "Thank you Williamson-sama, I needed that.

"Willy," I replied to him, "My brothers in arms call me Willy," I said with a smile reaching out and patting his back. "How about we stay at the inn tonight and strikeout in the morning looking for work around town."

"As long as they have to cook the rabbit," He said, looking pleased with the thought of not having to set up a campsite after a long day of fighting and walking.

"Deal. Let's finish strong Loot is right there," I said, pointing at a short wooden gate in the distance.

We walked at a good pace for the rest of the way. When we got to the gate, we spoke with the guard who directed us to the local inn and informed us they would be more than happy to cook the rabbit Naofumi had killed on the road. When we reached the inn, Naofumi spoke with the innkeeper to establish lodgings for the night while I went and handed off the rabbit to the inn's chef. After I finished that, I climbed the stairs to the rooms Naofumi arranged for the night to drop off the rest of our gear.

"Well, today was certainly eventful," I said to the exhausted Naofumi, who was sprawled out of his bed.

"Is it wrong? I am looking forward to eating that rabbit?" Naofumi said, sitting up with a yawn.

"No, I figured you would be hungry. I took the liberty of arranging a full meal for us, including some ale," Naofumi looked appreciative at me for doing so. Just then, there was a knock on the door, and a maid entered the room with a tray carrying the grilled rabbit and ale.

"Thank you, miss," I said as she dropped off the tray.

"It was my pleasure sirs, please enjoy your stay and meal, it is not every day we get adventures in our little town," she responded, departing with a wave.

I leaned forward and picked up one of the ales. "I propose a toast to our success today and to many more on the long road ahead," I said, acting dramatic.

"Here, here," Naofumi said, clanking his glass against mine and drinking deeply. "That's much better than I thought it would be," he said, looking at his glass.

I laughed at his surprise and started to eat the deliciously grilled rabbit. We ate quickly because of our hunger. We fell asleep even faster when our heads hit the pillows because of exhaustion from walking all day. I was looking forward to exploring the town tomorrow.

**Hey everybody guess what? I am not dead! To be honest, though I am sorry it took two months to get this chapter out, I decided to take a few digital classes on writing to improve the quality of work I put out for you. I hope that the improvements have been worth it for you. Thank you for sticking with me during this mess! Oh, and before I forget I hope you all have a good time this holiday season!**

**~Sobe James**


	6. Chapter 6: Blades For Hire

Chapter Six: Blades for Hire

I awoke to the sun shining brightly through the open window of the small room. I sat up in the straw bed I was laying in and stretched out my neck and shoulders, hearing the stiff joints pop I turned my head to look over at Naofumi. As I expected, he was still asleep after the long walk to Lute. Gingerly getting out of bed, I shambled over to the bag we had stuffed all the monster bits in to inspect its contents. The little bag looked like it was about to split open at its seams with how full it was. I was cataloging its contents when I heard the other bed groan. I looked over at the lump that had now rolled over onto its back, staring at the ceiling.

"Hey, buddy, you dead over there?" I asked the lump, causing it to look at me with a shell shocked expression on its face.

"I am not dead, but I feel like I am," Naofumi said, moving to sit on the edge of his bed. He reached out and took the pitcher of water off the table between the beds and poured himself a drink. He took a few deep gulps before looking back at me and continuing, "I feel like I was hit by a truck, is this how it is going to be every day?" he asked looking less than thrilled.

"Pretty much, we are going to have to walk everywhere until we get a filolial and carriage to pull us around. Toss one of these into your shield and see what it does," I said, tossing him a piece of a balloon. He deftly caught it in the air before rolling it around in his fingers. He examined the part before he shrugged and brought up his arm with the shield before touching the scrap to the gem. A bright flash went through the room as the jewel ate the balloon shard.

I could see his eyes twitching about the room, indicating that a screen had popped up in his vision. He scanned it carefully before he responded.

"It took the shard and used it to unlock a new shield, says it was the orange ballon small shield. It looks like I should be able to let the shield eat almost anything to get a new shield or a stat buff," he finished explaining while I examined the bag of loot.

"That's interesting if the buffs stack that could be a powerful tool. Here let it eat these while you're at it," I stated, handing him one of each of the different types of drop we had collected. I paused for a moment and looked back to the pelt the cook had sent up after dinner. I grabbed it and made an executive decision. Reaching behind my back, I unsheathed my knife and cut one of the pelt's ears off before handing the parts to Naofumi. He cocked an eyebrow at me before accepting the parts and dropping both into his shield.

I saw his eyes start to twitch around the air again before he spoke, "That was a good move. I got two unlocks that time; they are both parts of the Pill Rabbit tree. The pelt got me a gray fur shield, and the ear got me a skill that will allow me to hear better. I should be able to pinpoint a location just by the noise something made." he explained what he was seeing, "That should be a useful trick considering we could be jumped by monsters at any time." He finished going back to his drink.

"Go ahead and get us some breakfast. I am going to go sell our loot from yesterday. Oh, and don't order anything heavy," I said, collecting the various bits from the ground and returning them to the bag.

"Yeah, will do, it shouldn't be hard to sell those, I saw a few vendors on the way to the inn," He said still reading over the messages on his hud.

"I gave him a curt nod before I walked out the door in the small room. I was aware of the vendors that he had mentioned and was mentally planning out the best path to get to them when I walked down the steps into the inn's lobby.

"Oh, good morning sir, did you have a pleasant night?" The redheaded girl staffing the counter asked with a smile on her face.

"Yes, we did miss, we were grateful to find the inn yesterday. We walked here from just outside the capital," I responded to her kindly. A rouge thought crossed my mind before I turned around at the door to speak to the girl again, "Do you know if there is any local work we might be able to get in town?"

"Well," She started with her index finger on her chin, "I did hear about Mr. Bill needing help at his filolial ranch outside of town. And the mine's foreman has a notice up for help clearing out a section of the mine." She finished happily.

"Thank you, miss, that is going to be a big help to us. Do you know where I might be able to find Mr. Bill and the foreman at this hour?" I asked her while she looked over the inn's ledger.

"Mr. Bill is normally at the market right now, and the foreman would be at the bunkhouse at the end of the road just before the town wall if you head east from the inn," She explained, pointing to the left.

"Thank you miss, I will be sure to inquire with them about the jobs they need to be done," I said, exiting the inn. I was surveying the town as I walked down the main road back to the gate we entered the day before, It was a charming little hamlet well away from the capital. 'Good, that will put us out of reach of anyone in the capital that would try to snare us for right now.' I thought as I walked. It was not long before I came upon the market we had seen.

I stopped in the street with the bag slung over my right shoulder as I looked around at the stalls flanking the road. I saw that they looked like ones in the capital with brightly colored awnings and signs. I kept looking at the wares being traded as I walked down the main strip with my head on a swivel until I spotted what I was looking for. A stall almost at the main gate had a wide assortment of monster parts hanging up around the counter that indicated what was for sale or purchase. I gave a polite nod to the vendor as I approached the counter.

"Goodmorning sir," I said, stepping up to the wooden counter.

"Hello sir, You look like an adventurer have you got any monster parts to sell today?" The man who I could now see was about middle age said as I set the bag on the counter.

"Yessir, my friend and I had quite the haul yesterday. I have mostly balloon parts with some other parts mixed in to sell today," I said with a smile as I passed the bag over to him. He gave a polite nod and accepted the sack before opening it and sliding the material down passed the stacked parts.

"So I can see, it looks like quite the hunting adventure," He said, taking out a jewelers glass and beginning to inspect the various parts and pieces. He gave a few hums and mutterings while he looked over some of the piles at random. After about five minutes, he let the glass drop on its chain to hang from his neck before speaking. "Most of these drops are in remarkable condition, your partner and yourself must be incredibly skilled to be able to kill the monsters without damaging their hides. I reckon I can give you top pay for these," He said, holding a balloon skin up to the sun and looking through it.

"Thank you, sir, we appreciate that. We are actually staying in town for the time being and looking for work, I was told that your rancher Mr. Bill needed a hand with some monsters. Could you identify him for me?" I said pleased that we should get a nice sum for the monster bits.

"Why, of course! Bill is an old friend of mine if you like I will have my shop hand go and fetch him for us, while we talk business," He said jovially with a broad smile on his face.

"That would be quite kind of you, sir, thank you," I said, accepting his offer to help. He gave a polite nod and looked at the young man packing away more parts behind the counter.

"Kraft my boy, would you please go and get Old Bill for us, tell him I have a man here interested in helping him with his monster problem. He should be at Claira's stall right now," He said to the blonde teen.

"Right away, Mr. Lawrence!" Kraft responded, taking off down the road back towards the inn.

"He's a good lad, they should be back in about ten minutes. Until then, let's get your loot settled; you have a good verity of balloon skins and a few mushrooms. I can do a bronze for every orange skin, three bronze for every red skin, and ten bronze on both of the black skins. For the mushes, they have a bit more value to them for the greens I can do five bronze, browns are five, and purples will get you ten. So in total, that would be," Lawrence paused as he added up the skins on a pad of paper, "Two silver and thirty-three bronze for the lot, I will even give you five extra bronze as a bonus for the exceptional quality. Does that sound fair?" He asked, turning the pad around so I could see the math.

"Yes, that sound like quite a deal," I agreed, reaching across the counter and shaking his hand, "Thank you, sir, this will be a great help to us," I said as Lawrence began to count out our pay from his coin purse.

"So, you must have been an adventurer for some time to get kills that clean," Lawrence guessed, holding out a coin purse to me.

"No, sir, both my partner and myself started yesterday, although I have been a soldier for over a decade, so I am competent with my weapon," I explained, stuffing the coin purse into my leather vest.

"You must have seen some real action then, unlike those parade knights in the capital," Lawrence said with a laugh, "And they have the nerve to call themselves the most honored knights in the kingdom!" He espoused with a cheeky grin on his face.

"You mean all the knights protecting the palace are decorative soldiers? How did they get that posting, did they buy their commissions?" I asked, hoping to gain some information on the knights of the capital.

"You best believe they did, nine out of ten knights in the capital are the rich sons or daughters of the nobility. However, it is that one in ten you need to be wary of if you aggravate the king; they are actually the best forces in Melromarc. Well, them and the queen's Shadows," He explained leaning on the counter.

"The queen's shadows? What role do they perform, black ops?" I guessed, imitating Lawrence's posture. He leaned in close to my face to keep our conversation from being overheard.

"The way I hear it that is exactly the case, they say the shadows can slip into an enemies castle and slit the monarchs throat without being detected, there are tales from adventures that have seen people in black cloaks disappear without a trace without ever looking away from them, and the best part it is believed that all the shadows are women," He surveyed the crowd around us before speaking again, "Personally I think the rumors are true but, I also think they are spies who watch over the kingdom and report directly to the queen. It seems like whenever a disaster happens, the queen knows about it almost while it's happening." He finished conspiratorially.

"They sound quite capable, I have run into some special forces while on deployments, and they seem to be immune to the mistake that would plague a normal person," I said impressed with the spy network of the queen.

"Has you should," Lawrence said, standing upright again, "There exists no other force like them anywhere else in the world," He finished. A moment later, Kraft returned with a man in his sixties in tow.

"Hello, Bill! How is the ranch treating you these days?" Lawrence announced to the man with a smile.

"I suppose I can't really complain if it wasn't for these monsters lurking about everything would be just dandy. Marge found another filolial dead in the fields this morning; if this keeps up, I will be out of birds in a week," Bill said, grasping Lawrence's forearm in greeting. "Anyway young Kraft here tells me you have a team of adventurers looking for some local work, is that true?" Bill said, looking hopeful.

"Yes, it is; in fact, my friend here is part of that team," Lawrence explained with a sweeping motion at myself. "You should see some of the hides he just brought in, expert stuff really," He continued handing two of the hides over to Bill.

"Clean cuts and only one in each hide, you must have felled them in a single swipe. Quite impressive for an adventurer, normally the hides they bring in are so full of holes you can bearly tell what the monster was," Bill agreed holding the hide up to the sun. "So you're looking for some work, eh? Well, I should have something that suits you. Do you know where your party members are at I would like to speak to you all at once if possible," Bill said, handing the hide back to Lawrence.

"I do, in fact, I left my teammate back at the inn to order breakfast while I went out to sell our haul from yesterday, we can head back there if you like," I explained gesturing back towards the inn.

"That will do just fine, let me fetch my carriage from the general store and I will meet you both at the inn," Bill affirmed with a nod.

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I returned to the inn quickly and after giving a polite nod to the redhead made my way up to the room, giving a quick rap on the door with my knuckles I waited for Naofumi to answer,

"Hello?" His voice called out from the other side of the door.

"It's me bud," I responded, opening the door and poking my head into the room, "We will be eating in the dining area downstairs this morning. I arranged for us to have a meeting with a local rancher about clearing out some monsters for him; he should be here in about five minutes." I explained to him quickly.

"That's fantastic! How did selling the monster parts from yesterday go?" He inquired, getting up from the small table in the room and striding over to the door.

"It went well, we ended up getting top dollar for the parts," I explained stepping into the hall fully while Naofumi joined me, "In total, we received two silver and forty bronze for our work," I continued as we walked downstairs.

Naofumi gave a slight hum in response, I could see that he was mulling something over in his head, so I gave him a moment as we strode into the dining area and sat at one of the grayed and scarred wooden tables and benches. He slit onto the bench across from me before responding.

"We paid fifty bronze for the room last night, and it cost us twenty-five for the food and drink, at the rate we are making right now we should be okay on money until we need to update our gear and equipment." He finished thoughtfully with his hand under his chin.

"That's true, but we still cannot stay at an inn every night," I said as I saw Mr. Bill enter the dining room, I gave a tilt of my head to Bill letting and continued, "we need to be careful still around the castle, and I don't like being around too many people we don't know for long. We will talk more on this latter Mr. Bill is here." I finished standing up and making my way over to the man in question.

"Its good to see you again, sir; let me introduce you to my partner Naofumi Iwatani," I said, greeting Bill politely and escorting him over to our table. Naofumi stood up and shook Bill's hand in greeting.

"It is good to meet you Mr. Naofumi, you and your partner here seem to be just what the doctor ordered," Bill sated shaking Naofumi's hand excitedly he took the seat across from Naofumi as I slid in next to him. "Yes it is good fortune to meet you both today, you see; my ranch is normally to close to the outer wall for monsters to be much of a problem, but with the last wave being so close there are too many of them stocked in the woods around the ranch right now. They don't pose much of a threat to the older birds at the ranch, but the younglings and chicks can't defend themselves. He finished looking exasperated with the issue.

"That sounds like quite the situation," I said, leaning onto the table, "We are all too happy to help, but we are going to know what we are going to be dealing with before we can make any promises. I finished gesturing to Naofumi to see if he had anything to add.

His head swiveled from me to Bill, "That's right sir, I don't want to make you a promise that we won't be able to deliver on."

Bill gave a nod of his head, "That's a fair concern, so far my wife and I have not seen anything too strong, but it wouldn't surprise me to find out the there is a minor alpha monster lurking nearby. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say it was a balloon, or a mush should be around level fifteen. What I really need you to do is thin out the pack of monsters that is there already and then to kill the alpha to drive them off for good." He finished looking serious.

"That sound like a tall order, what would you consider to be fair compensation for all of that?" I said, looking over to my Naofumi.

Bill looked deep in thought for a moment and then looked up to the ceiling for a while before responding. "My wife and I don't have too much money to offer. . . but if you would be agreeable to it, we could pay you two bronze for every shroom and ballon you eliminate plus three silver if you can bring me the head of the alpha. That would be in addition to what you can get for the hides you collect." He finished looking first to Naofumi and then to myself.

Naofumi and I shared a look for a moment before he gave a slight nod, "I think that sounds fair enough; we will, of course, need a place to stay and food and drink while we are under your employ." I finished stretching my hand out towards him.

Bill almost lept across the table to shake my hand and then Naofumi's, "You have a deal, sirs! Thank you so much! You have no idea how relieved I am to finally have someone willing to help!" He shouted happily, still shaking my hand. " Bartender! Let me get a round for myself and my new friends here!" He shouted over to the bar, getting a clear "Aye!" in response.

After the waitress brought over our drinks and we had toasted to a deal well struck we resumed talking, "We will be more than happy to join you today we will just need a moment to collect our things from upstairs," I said after taking a swig of my beer.

"Aye, that will be fine after we finish our drinks if you would like. I will pull the wagon around, and you both can ride back to the ranch with me," Bill said, taking a deep drink from his glass.

"That sounds great to me," Naofumi said, "If you don't mind excusing me, I will just go get the packs now." He said, getting up and going to grab the packs after getting a polite nod from Bill.

"Not much of a drinker is he?" Bill asked, looking at me with a smile seeing Naofumi had left half of his drink behind.

"Don't mind him," I said, emptying my glass, "He is a young man with a lot to learn but he has got promise, and his heart is in the right place." I finished reaching over and grabbing Naofumi's now abandoned glass.

Bill gave a hearty chuckle and said: "I will drink to that, hears too well-meaning adventures." He said, lifting his glass high.

I lifted the glass up and let them come together with a solid clink, we both drained the rest of the the beer before standing up, "Well Mr. Bill it looks like we have some work to do." I said smiling as we walked out of the dining area.

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The wagon we wear riding in was an old and well worn thing with wheels that where not quite round anymore, it joslted the cargo area where Naofumi and I were sitting everytime we went over a divit in the path we were following around the small wall surrounding the village. I could see the ranch out infront of us has we tracked around the wall some more, it was made up of a cluster of five good sized wooden buildings set around a centreal well. As I scanned around I could see three main fenced in areas around the buildings that were bordered by the forest.

"You can see the ranch fully now those over there are the barns," Bill anouced after another moment of the wagon bounce over the uneaven path and pointipensng at three of the building that backed up to the penned in areas, "You would normally see the filolials running about but with the current problem we thought it best to keep them inside as much as possible." He finished gesturing at the empty pens.

"If you are keeping them in the barns how are monsters getting to your birds?" I asked him.

"Filolials are smart and dumb at the same time," The bird pulling the wagon preened for a second and then gave an indignat squak at his comment, "Hush Kero," Bill said tossing a treat to the beast that it munched quickly. "They also have an appetite to rivail a dragon. Even keeping them in the barns outside of feeding them they will sneak out at night if they think they can scratch up some more food. That's when the monsters are getting them." Bill fnished as we pulled up to one of the barns.

"I see," I began as I stood up and grabbed my pack from next to the resting Naofumi rousing him from his nap, "They must be quite the creature to need so much food." I finished pointing at the large stacks of seed in the wagon.

"Aye, that they are. All of this should last about a week and its almost double what I normally would get for them." Bill explaind while he detached the large pink and white bird from the front of the wagon. "Normally we can have them free to roam from in the barns to the pens as they like and they could forage for small animals and game that wanders in from the forest looking for extra seed they missed; but, sadly the mosters are eating all that up too and we don't make enough from the birds to buy them fresh meet." Bill fnished as Kero gave a soft crowing noise.

"Well we are here now so you shouldn't have anymore problems hopefully." I said to Bill giving Kero a scratch under the beak. Kero cawed softly at the attention and nuzzed into my hand.

"You have quite the way with her," Bill said coming up to me and grabbing Kero's rigns, "Normally she's not to fond of people she doesn't know."

"Thanks, I have a small herd of horses back home so being around large animals isn't new to me." I responded to him with a smile as Naofumi came around from the back of the wagon.

"Anyway let me take your round to the farm house over yonder and get you introduced to the ranch hands," Bill said leading us and Kero behind him. He gave a loud shout of "Hey everybody! Come on round to the well we have guest!," as he hitched Kero up to a water trough next to the well.

One of the houses doors suddenly busted open and two small brown haired children ran out, one was a little boy who looked like he was about seven and dressed in a pair of denim overalls and a white tunic ran up to Bill and latched onto him with a hug.

"Grandpa Bill! I did all my chores today already so Grandma said I could play with the chicks until supper!" He shouted happily holding onto Bill's leg and looking up at him.

"You did! Well then I guess you can have one of the sweet-rolls I bought in town today." Bill said picking the little boy up and resting him on one hip.

I saw the other child was a little girl with big green eyes and wearing a green dress with white flowers on it had retreated to the door they had come out of and was eyeing Naofumi and myself shyly peaking out from the side of the doorframe. I gave her a wave and a smile before she was picked up from behind by a man with the same brown hair as the children as he walked outside. Coming down the steps of the house he called out to Bill.

"Welcome, back dad. I see that you have come back with more than just grain this time," He said in a slightly deep voice giving a nod to Naofumi and me, "So who are our guests." He finished taking the other child from Bill.

"This is Mr. Williamson and Mr. Naofumi; they are adventurers who have agreed to help us with the monster problem we have been having," Bill said to his son with a smile and giving the girl a pat on the head.

"That's great news! I'm sure ma will be happy to hear that she won't be having to worry about Kero at night anymore." The man said with his booming voice. He turned to Naofumi and myself before speaking, "It is good to know that we finally have some help, but where are my manners my name is Bill but must just call me Junior. And this here is little Billy and Lily." He said, looking at each kid in turn. "I would shake your hands, but as you can see," He trailed off.

"That's fine, Mr. Junior; we are glad we can help," Naofumi said to the man giving a little wave to each kid.

"Well, y'all better just come on in, then I'm sure ma and the wife can't wait to meet ya," Junior chuckled while walking back up the step into the farmhouse.

Bill gave us a nod before saying, "You can go with Junior there, and I will go rustle up the ranch hands, they should be around here somewhere." Before and once again took Kero's reins and lead her off towards one of the barns.

Naofumi and I said our goodbyes to Bill and headed up the steps into the farmhouse after Junior and the kids, stepping inside Junior set the kids down and told them to run along and stay out of trouble. They quickly scampered off down a hallway and went into one of the rooms. Junior led us through the house to a kitchen and dining room, when I entered the room I could see two women tending to something on the hearth in the kitchen.

"Sarah, ma, I got the guest that dad brought with him," Junior said anoucing us to the women.

Both women turned around quickly at the sound of Junior's voice, the younger of the duo, who must have been his wife Sarah had blonde hair tied into a simple ponytail and was about five and a half feet tall. As the other woman turned I could see that she was around Bill's age but that the years had been kind to her, she had white hair that was pulled into a tight bun in the back and bangs that framed her face. She smiled at us kindly before she spoke.

"Well then, I can see what all the hullabaloo was about, y'all must be adventures." She said, dusting her hands off and holding one out.

"Yes ma'am," I said taking her offered hand, despite her age she had a firm handshake, "I ran into Mr. Bill this morning at the market after we discussed the situation my partner and I have agreed to help clear out the monsters infesting your land." I finished as Naofumi came up and shook her hand next.

"It's a pleasure miss," Naofumi said.

"Well we are glad you're here, you can put your packs down right over by the door and sit for a spell at the big table over there," She said gesturing to the large table along one wall, "I will get us some drinks, Bill should be along any minute with the rest of the ranch and then we can all talk about a plan together." She finished kindly as she walked back to a cupboard and got out two stacks of glasses.

"Thank you miss." I said as Naofumi and I set down our packs and took a set together at the table. Junior sat in one of the empty chairs and was joined by his wife Sarah who sat next to him. His mother hummed quietly as she set out glasses at all the chairs for the table and then walked outside.

"You came just in time, I was beging to worry that the ranch might become overrun soon. We are capable ranchers but we are no fighters." Sarah said leaning forward tworards us.

"You really did, is was starting to worry that the ranch might now be safe for our youngins anymore. The ranchhands and I can take on a couple of balloons, but the kids are so small still." Junior said with a sigh, "Just this morning, I saw a pack of balloons lurking just at the edge of the forest." He finished as he took one of his wife's and held it.

"We promise you, Junior, after we are finished with the job here, you won't have to worry about monsters anymore," Naofumi said with determination.

"He's right; we will make sure that any monsters we come across won't be getting another chance to cause you trouble ever again," I assured him, backing Naofumi up. Just after I had finished speaking, Bill entered the room, followed closely by two more people. Some of the group exchanged nods of greeting, and everybody sat down around the table with Bill and his wife at the head.

"Alright everybody, it shouldn't be a mystery why we have our two new friends here," He started as his wife returned carrying a jug of water which she proceeded to pour into everybody's glass, "This is Mr. Williamson and Mr. Naofumi, they are going to clear out that hive in the woods for us." He finished looking around the table. "In return, they are going to be staying in the bunkhouse with y'all," he said, looking at the two men that followed him in.

"No problems here,"

"We have got plenty of empty beds,"

"No objections on our end," I said.

"By the way, those two are Larry and Mathew Smalls," Bill said, pointing to each brother in turn. Larry the bigger one gave a wave down to us as Mathew chugged his water. "So you have you two got a plan?" Bill asked us.

"I have the beganings of one but I will need to see how bad the raids are tonight to come up with a better one," I started to explain, "We will make a few passes around the ranch between the wall and the woods today and kill off anything dumb enough to come out in the day light. After that we are going to sleep from lunch until dinner so we will be able to stay up all night and make sure no more of your flock falls victim to the monsters." I finished and took a couple of swigs from my glass.

"We could also set up some traps if you have some twine and large sticks laying about," Naofumi said leaning forward, "Balloons and mushes are opportunity preditors and scavengers if you bait the traps with some meat we should be able to stop a good number without having to fight them." He finished looking around the table.

"That's an idea worth a gold coin right there," Bill said as he turned to the Small sibling, "After we get the cart empty and the flocks out and fed I want yall to go out and gather all the stick that with take a good whack on a tree and pile them up at the well." He fnished getting a pair of "Aye's" from the brothers. "Martha have you got anymore of the twine we were using to tie up the bales from winter?" He asked his wife.

"Sure do hun, I rolled all of it up and stored it up in the top of the nesting barn." She said with nod.

"Good, Junior you and Sarah are gonna keep to the regular schedule and if ya don't mind pitch in where ya can." Bill said to the couple getting a pair of firm nods.

"Alright then, we have our plan for now. Y'all two wait right there I got something that should make you lives a little easier." Bill said getting up from the table and walking down the hall.

"Come on Larry we got a wagon to start on," Mathew said getting up and coming around the table with his brother. "It was nice meeting y'all, be seeing you at lunch." Mathew said as they left the house.

The next couple to leave the table was Junior and Sarah, who politely excused themselves Junior went to help the brothers with the wagon whilst Sarah went to check up on the kids. Martha and Naofumi where exchangeing small talk while I settleld in for a minute to check over my knife and spear, it was not too much longer before Bill returned from down the hall.

"Sorry for the delay, I had lost track of where I had put this," Bill said placing a bow and quiver of arrows down on the table, "I got this on trade from a man passing through a while back." He added with a smile. "I figured it might come in handy one day but never became a good enough shot to use it, hopefully y'all will find it much more to your liking."

I picked up and examined to bow, it was a sturdy and well crafted thing with the main body made out of a rich dark wood and steel endcaps where the string was attached. I stode up from my chair and gave the string a few practice pulls to test the draw streangth, finding it to my liking a examined an arrow. The arrorws looked to be a normal broad head affixed to a length of wood and were about two feet in length.

"This should serve us quite nicely," I said swinging to bow and it's quiver over my shoulder, "I have some practice with bows so hopefully I have not forgotten too much." I said with a slight grin.

"Im sure you will do fine dearie," Martha said standing up, "Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get back to getting lunch ready for the ranch." She explained and went over to check the pot over the hearth.

"Well, I think that is everything we needed," Bill said after a moment, "Lunch will be ready when you hear the bell ringing, now I should go and let the filolials out before they get antsy." He added, walking out of the room.

"We should get started as well Naofumi, you start on the south end, and patrol to the north, and I will start the other way and patrol in a widening arc to the south. When you get to the other side of the ranch, turn around and head back the other way till lunch." I explained, giving him his marching orders.

"Right, if I see a large gathering of monsters, I will try to take them all out." He said with a quick nod. "You should take the loot bag with you. I can just store most of the loot in the shield." He added, handing over the bag.

Having made our plan, for the time being, we each left the house and headed to opposite sides of the ranch. I made sure to keep an eye out to memorize the layout of the buildings and get a feel for where everything was, I saw that Bill had let all the birds out into their respective pens and that Junior was walking around spreading feed for the full-grown ones. It only took me a few minutes to make it to the north end of the ranch. I was mildly surprised to see that a balloon had already made it's way to the end of the path and fence line, seeing as it was a good opportunity I stopped about twenty yards away and drew the bow. I took a deep breath and the unleashed the arrow.

It flew fast and silent through the air and clipping the balloon on the side of it's mouth the arrow embedded itself in the ground with a solid "thunk", despite not being a direct hit it was still more than enough to kill the beast before it knew what happen. I quickly pulled another arrow and jogged over to claim my arrow and the large balloon shard. Stowing the loot I kept the bow at the ready and began to walk briskly to the south. It was a rather nice day out so thankfully it was cooler then it could be with a nice breeze.

I was making sure to keep my eyes open as I walked along the border of the woods, I would ocastionaly stop and check in all directions for any monster activity before resuming my path. I was about halfway past the chicks pen when I saw a group of pillrabbits heading for the fence, I quickly pulled the arrow back and loosed a shot into the center mass of the lead rabbit drawing the attention of the others. They quickly split off, with one running back into the trees and the other charging me. I slung the bow back over a shoulder and drew my knife as the beast reached me, it gave a powerful leap from the ground and lunged teeth out at my face. I stepped to the right while I brought my blade down on the critter ending it in one strike.

Nothing of any real interest happened until I crossed Naofumi a little more the halfway around the ranch, seeing him approach I called out to him. "How's it going? I caught three already near the fence," I bellowed so he could hear me.

"I got four balloons that were hiding one tree in, other than that I haven't seen anything." He responded, closing the gap at a jog.

"Good, keep on your path when I reach the southern point I am going to go about 10 yards into the forest." I started, taking out my canteen and taking a drink, "I don't expect to come across any real resistance until nightfall, but, if I come across any nest, I am going to wipe them out and mark the area. Hopefully the critters will get the message and start clearing out." I added.

"Sounds good, it looks like it takes half an hour to make a single pass so we should get a decent amount in before lunch." He responded also taking a moment to rest.

"Keep up the good work, I will see you at lunch and brief the ranch on any changes in the plan." I said getting a nod in return as I left back on my patrol.

It wouldn't be until I had made another two passes that I finally made contact with another group of monsters, this time it aperred to be what looked like four purcupines each as big as an average man. I took shelter down wind behind a cluster of ferns and readied my bow, pointing it at the closet monsters head and letting it rest for a moment I could see that the beast in my crosshairs was level ten. I swept my bow across each one in turn and found that it was the one level ten, two level nines, and a level thirteen. I decided that the best course of action was to break off and get Naofumi.

To say that I hauled ass back to the ranch proper might be an understatement when I cleared the woods I could see that Naofumi was coming down back to the midway point from the north side. Turning quickly, I bee-lined it to him; he saw me coming from about 300 yards away and started running to meet me.

"Naofumi! I found a nest of giant porcupines about fifty yards into the forest, it looks like a nest for them!" I shouted as he came closer.

"What's the plan?" He asked, breathing a little deeper from his run.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Junior riding out to us on a pitch-black filolial, I gave the nod in that direction to Naofumi to let him know to look over. He spotted Junior quickly, and we both raised an arm high in the air in greeting as he arrived. His bird nimbly hoped over the fence next to us and skidded to a stop as he pulled back on its reins.

"I saw you running out of the forest what have you got?" He asked quickly.

"Giant porcupines a group of four of them level ten to thirteen, about fifty yards in," I responded just as quickly.

"Damn it, those are some of the more dangerous beasts in the area. I never expected a nest of the so close to a village, will you be able to take them out?" He inquired, looking agitated as he slid down from the bird.

"We should be able to, I was thinking of starting the fight from a distance and hopefully knocking one or two out of the fight before it comes right to us," I said, pointing to the bow on my back.

"If you don't mind letting me us that bow you got there, I'm a pretty good shot," Junior said, gesturing a the aforementioned bow.

"Be my guest, Bill is loaning us that bow why we are working for the ranch so it yours anyway," I explained, sliding off the bow and its quiver and handing it over. Junior quickly took the bow and slung it over like I had.

"So how do you want to do this?" Naofumi asked now that we all had a weapon.

"The longest shot that was clear was about twenty-five yards so I will get one to look straight to Juniors position, he should be able to get it right in the head and take it out. You and I will be closer to the group to ambush them before they can make it to Junior, I will try to take one out with my knife and another with my spear but you are going to have to deflect one maybe two if my knife doesn't outright kill the one it hits." I explained laying out the best plan I had.

"I can do that, if I get anymore clean shots after y'all get on em I will do my best," Junior said with a nod.

"I liked it right up until the part where you're going to let a _giant _porcupine bum rush me, but I can do it," Naofumi said with a large dose of sarcasm.

"Okay, let's go," I said as we headed off to lay our trap.

It took about twenty minutes for us all to get into position, Junior had set himself up behind a fallen tree downwind of the beast. After that, Naofumi and I had crept up slowly to be about ten yards in front of Junior to cut off the inevitable charge. Now, all we had to do was wait for Junior to give the whistle to begin the attack, looking over to my right I gave Naofumi a nod of encouragement, and just one moment later we heard Junior whistle.

The first beast's head snapped up and looked straight at the now exposed chest of Junior, only for an arrow to zip through the air between Naofumi and I to hit the monster so hard in the face it flipped it over onto it's spiky back. The others let out a quick scream of rage that periced the air and began to charge at breakneck speeds. We stayed hidden until we heard Junior shout "Now!"

Naofumi and I quickly spun out from our spots and made a human wall right in the beast path, fast as a whip I snapped my knife from my holster on my belt into the closest one to me hiting it square in the chest and cuaseing it front flip. I tossed my spear bank to my right side and charged the next one coming. When I lowered to point down at the beast we were closing into too fast to change course. The beast and I came together like a train crash, as soon as I felt my spear connect I forced the point into the air lifting the now skewered beast high and forcing it up over my body to slam the speartip into the forrest floor as I twisted around to carry the momentum. The porcupine only let out a "huff" as it hit the ground and fell silent.

I quickly looked over to Naofumi to see that whilst the one he intercepted put a few quils in him, he had succsefully stopped its charge and throw it back. The beast apperade to twitch its hindquarters which to my surprise shot three quils into me as it charge Naofumi again. I snatched my spear and flipped it around as I yelled "Naofumi duck!", He dropped to the ground as the ball of metal on the end of my spear sored over his head and into the open mouth of the porcupine in midair with a resounding "Crack" as its teath shattered. The force of the hit was so strong that it tossed the monster into the air where an arrow hit it in it's soft belly with a loud "Thwak!".

Naofumi and I looked around to make sure we got em all before he called out to Junior.

"Good shooting Junior! We got them!" He said with a huge smile on his face. Junior let out a whoop in response.

"Great work team," I said to the smiling pair, "Junior do you think the filolial you had earlier can help us drag these back to the ranch?" I asked pulling my knife out of the monster I had thrown it into.

"Yeah Coal should be able to drag them all back," He said as he put his thumb and forefinger in the side of his mouth and let off a loud whistle tawords the ranch.

The black filolial I saw Junior on earlier came bounding to us impresivly fast in response to Juniors call, as it came along side the group Junior reached out and gave it a pat on its head.

"Hey buddy wanna help us get hese back to the ranch?" He asked scratching Coal under his chin, Coal let out a loud cawing noise in response and turned around so we could tie the beast off to his harness.

We made short work of tieing up the dead porcupines and affixing them to Coal, who in turn made it seem like he was perfectly happy dragging the bodys out of the forrest and down to the well rocking his head back and forth and cawing softly the whole way. When we were about halfway back to the ranch we heard the distinct sound of a ringing bell.

"Looks like it's lunch time yall." Junior said nodding to where Sarah was ringing a bell in the middle of the ranch.

"Well I don't think we could have timed it any better," I said with a little bit of a yawn whilst fideling with one of the quils I had been hit with. I gave a hearty wave to Sarah who had seen us approaching and waved back.

Junior tied Coal up to the well and we all headed inside to get some chow, I stopped just inside the door to take of my leather jacket and hang it up on a coat rack before making my way into the kitchen and have a seat at the table. Naofumi walked in a moment later having removed his chainmail and secured it to his pack. Soon enough the other members of the ranch started coming in and joining us at the table one by one.

Once everybody had said there hellos and had a seat around the table Martha brought the pot she had been tending to earlier over and set I down while Sarah brought over a stack of bowls.

"Alright yall know the rules everyone gets a full bowl and then you can fight like animals over the rest," Martha anouced and started passing bowls out around the table getting a thank you from everyone as they got theirs.

Everyone dug in imedeatly and it would be a number of minutes before the talking begun, the stew that she had made was delicious so I could see why. It had a good balance of chunks of meat and vegetables as well as a good roux base to be nice and thick but smooth at the same time.

"So I see you two have been busy," Bill said as he laddeled himself another serving of the stew.

"Yessir, we took out a small number and variety of monsters today but those beast out there are the big catch of the day," I said with a sly grin gesturing over to where we left the porcupines. "Junior was a big help with them." I finished give the man a nod.

"Ah well it was nothing," Junior said scratching his chin while Sarah slapped his arm looking a little put out, "All I did was shoot from a distance. Yout two did all the hard work, plus those quils couldn't have been fun to pull out. He added causing Naofumi to reflexively scratch where he pulled one out of his shoulder.

Sarah looked at us both a little stunned, "Those monsters managed to hit you both and you just shook it off? I got pricked by a baby one when I was a little girl and cried for hours." She explained looking at a loss for words.

"I could imagine, luckly for me my armour stopped all but one from getting throught to me, how did you fair Naofumi?" I asked him interrupting his munching.

"My shield and chainmail worked well, none of them gave me anything worse then a scratch." He responded scrathing at his shoulder again and returning to his bowl.

"Well thank heavens, being that big those beast could seriously hurt someone if they wernot prepared." Martha sighed with relief that we ended our hunt with no casualties.

"So what do you want to do with them? They are going to start rotting in about a day if you don't break them down and use the meat," Bill said having finished his second bowl.

Naofumi just looked at me and shurged, "You can harvest any meat from them that would make for good eating and anything else you can bait the traps with or feed to your flock if filolials will eat it." I finished not really sure myself what to do with them.

"That's awfully kind of you, looks like we will be having steaks for supper and filolials will eat anything so they will be happy to get something more then seed for the first time in a while. We can take care of building the traps and setting them out and Martha and Junior are pretty good butchers so they can break down the pines for you along with any other meater monster you go today." Bill said with a grin.

"Just leave it to us dearies, we will get those beast taken care of in no time." Martha said with a smile.

"Thank you, I think Williamson-sama and I are going to head over to the bunk house and get some rest before we have to get up tonight." Naofumi stated before excusing himself from the table.

"I think my partner has got the right idea," I said standing up as well, "Thank you for the food and I will see you at dinner time before we head back out."

"Y'all have a good rest you have definitely earned it. I will send Billy over to get you when dinner is ready." Sarah said patting the boy on the head as he ate messily.

"Thank you, we will see you all in a couple of hours then," I said giving them a wave as I stepped outside and started heading over to the bunkhouse looking forward to a nice long nap.


End file.
